About Adrian
About Adrian
Adrian Moakes has over 30 years experience creating unique public artworks through local research, consultation and design workshops. He is well known for encouraging communities to participate in the creation of site-specific sculptures that invigorate and enhance the environment.
Not only does Adrian enable people to participate in the development of designs, but many of his permanent sculptures have a surprising interactive aspect to them. This has grown from his popular early work - junk kinetic pieces that you had to peddle, push or wind to experience the full effect. Many a park, gallery, school, nightclub & theatre resounded to the clangs, bongs, rattles and laughter that accompanied his installations.
Public commissions require rather more safety and reliability, but Adrian finds intriguing ways to entertain and involve people in the finished works. Often this has been by creating spacial illusions, enticing the viewer to seek out optimum viewpoints from where images are magically formed by the seemingly disparate elements. Adrian calls it the ‘kinetic audience’. Then there’s his love of functional artworks – lots of sculptural benches, gateways, a couple of public clocks and even a water-collecting sculpture – there are so many ways to participate in his work.
The underlying motivation for Adrian (apart from getting his hands dirty) is to open people’s eyes to the beauty around them, to appreciate their natural & built environment and get involved in improving and looking after it.