A NEW sculpture has been installed in Haslemere, the second in a series of contemporary works coming to the town.

A set of four sculptures are being installed across the town, thanks to the Haslemere Festival and Fringe, with support from Grayshott Pottery.

The new sculpture – which can be found at Clements Corner – is named Mimesis, and represents “certain properties of plants or flowers, which we see all around us in Haslemere and encourages you – the viewer – to use your imagination.”

Ken Griffiths, who has been involved in the creation of the sculptures said: “Over the 20 years of the Haslemere Festival and 10 years of the Haslemere Fringe Festival, we have strived to bring all forms of the arts to Haslemere, but by the nature of a festival, these have been transient and have been showcased for just the duration of the festivals.

“However, we have now installed our second of four contemporary works of art as a gift to the good people of Haslemere and the surrounding district, which will have a lasting presence for many years to come and hopefully become iconic to the town.”

The group had previously unveiled Progress, a sculpture installed on High Street.

A third sculpture was set to be unveiled at the Haslemere Fringe 2020, but the festival was postponed to 2021 because of Covid-19 – with potential plans to unveil the third “in a couple of months” in a smaller ceremony.

Commenting on the statue, Ken said: “It is like reading a poem about a flower, where you conjure your image of the flower in your own mind, which could be wildly different to another person’s image.”

As previously reported in the Herald, Ken said: “Hopefully they will form a significant part of an arts trail around the town, thereby attracting more visitors and boosting the financial wellbeing.”

The statue has been forged and fabricated with steel by artist Andrew Brighty, of The Blacksmith Studio in Dockenfield.