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Jupiter Artland

Jun 13
4 min read

 We had seen many photos of the award-winning Jupiter Artland near Edinburgh, so we decided to take a trip over to see what it was all about.

It took us just over an hour to drive there, much of it on the motorway and good roads. 

On arrival, we paid our entry fee at the gate and were directed to the large car park, which necessitated driving through the park past the impressive Cells for Life installation. Having parked the car, we went for a wonder...

Landscaped park with curved blue ponds, grassy mounds, and trees; a few people walk along the path under a bright sky.
Cells of Life by Charles Jenks

Cells of Life by Charles Jenks, on what is called "Ice Cream Lane", is quoted as "A landform celebration of the cell as a basis of life. Charles Jenks (1939-2019) was an American cultural theorist, landscape architect and architectural historian and co-founder of Maggie's Cancer Care Centres. His land art frequently focused on astronomical and ecological themes.

  • Landscaped park with curved blue ponds, grassy mounds, and trees; a few people walk along the waters edge under a bright sky.
    Cells of Life
  • A bright sky with cotton wool clouds is reflected in the blue waters of the pond
    Some of the water is dyed blue
  • Still blue water lies alongside green grassy well manicured banks under a blue bright sky
    Another view of Cells of Life

After a brief stop at the Steadings for a toilet and ice cream break, we found ourselves in the Ballroom garden looking at A Cosmic Reset by Laura Aldridge. A fountain of spiralling ceramic shells, the sonorous drip of water moving over stacked sculptural forms and painterly glazes. Set in a beautiful garden next to an ancient dovecote, everything shone in the sun.

Peach garden house with domed roof behind a tall abstract sculpture and purple allium flowers, with visitors under a blue sky.
A Cosmic Reset by Laura Chadwick sits in the Ballroom Garden

Laura Aldridge lives in Glasgow and works in Paisley. She is a founding member of Sculpture House Collective in Ferguslie Park, Paisley.

  • A brightly coloured sculpture foreground with alliums in full bloom on a sunny day. At the rear lies an ancient dovecotek
    A Cosmic Reset and the dovecote
  • A criss cross pattern of grass and paving lead up to a green gate with trees in the background
    Immaculate lawn in the Ballroom Garden

The Ballroom Garden, along with many of the areas in Jupiter Artland, is immaculately maintained without a blade of grass out of place. June is obviously a perfect month to view.

Further on our travels, we arrived at Gala Hill and The Fermament by Royal Academician Sir Antony Gormley. Inspired by an old star map, steel elements form a crouching figure. Sited on a horizon, it is best viewed with the sky through it.

Rust-colored wireframe animal sculpture arches over a garden path under a blue sky, with trees and grass all around.
The Fermament by Sir Antony Gormley

  • The sky shines bright blue above the rusted intricate steel sculpture
    Looking through the sculpture to the sky
  • The rusting spindley structure of the sculpture in front of green trees on a sunny day
    Part of Antony Gormley's The Firmament sculpture
  • Looking through part of the steel metal structure of the sculpture with green meadows and blue sky in the distance
    The Fermament sculpture is set on a ridge

Jupiter Artland was created by art collectors and philanthropists Robert and Nicky Wilson.  Nicky studied sculpting at the Chelsea College of Art and Design as well as the Camberwell College of Arts. Her husband, Irish-born Robert, is heir to the homoeopathic medicine giant Nelsons and is president of the Edinburgh Art Festival, and Nick is a member of the board of trustees of the Scottish National Gallery in Edinburgh.  They moved from Fulham in London to the castle on the estate, which was semi-derelict when they bought it in 1999.

They founded Jupiter Artland on the estate in 2009.  Robert was commuting to London and Nicky, bringing up their four children on the estate, became restless and wanted to flex her artistic muscles.  So the Artland was born. They chose the name Jupiter as being the archetype for creativity, happiness and enjoyment. 

Leaving The Fermament, we continued on our path through the woods. Suddenly we were surrounded by Laura Ford's Weeping Girls. These are a series of figures hand-carved from wax, then cast in found objects at the foundry.

Two white, faceless statues sit in a leafy wooded park, one slumped against a tree, creating an eerie mood.
Two of the several Weeping Girls by Laura Ford

Currently President of the Royal Society of Sculptors, Laura Ford studied at The Cooper Union School of Art in New York City and then at Chelsea School of Art. Marcello Spinelli wrote (British Art Show 5): "Ford's creatures are faithful representations of fantasy and, at times, a nightmarish imagination. With their bittersweet, menacing and endearing qualities, her stuffed animals and dolls appeal to childhood memories and inhabit a world we immediately recognise as somewhat familiar."

  • A greek looking stone temple set in a bright woodland
    Temple of Apollo by Ian Hamilton Finlay
  • A bust sits atop a column fashioned in stone, set within a pleasant wooded location with the sun shining through the trees.
    Xth Muse by Ian Hamilton Finlay

Further into the woods we went, passing the Temple of Apollo by Ian Hamilton Finlay and his Xth Muse.

Colorful flower bed with yellow and pink blooms in a walled garden, with rustic metal crosses and stone graves in back.
In Memory by Nathan Coley

In Memory by Nathan Coley is a small enclosed graveyard of nameless tombs and headstones. We nearly missed Cornelia Parker's Landscape with Gun and Tree, and it is the surprise of coming across many of these installations that makes the journey fun and interesting.

Large rusted metal sculpture leaning against a tree on a sunny forest path, surrounded by bright green leaves.
Cornelia Parker's Landscape with Gun and Tree

One of our favourite works was The Rose Walk by Pablo Bronstein in The Wilderness area. It comprises wooden Gothic and Chinese porticos facing each other alongside a courtyard lined by beds of roses. "Irony and pleasure co-exist in an emblem of 18th-century tastes"

  • A path leads up to a bright white portico. On either side of the path there is a manicured rose garden
    The Rose Walk by Pablo Bronstein
  • Looking through an arch along a path to a distant portico. The structures are white and the day is sunny
    The Rose Walk by Pablo Bronstein facing the opposite direction

Artland is set in 120 acres of meadow and woodland with several indoor gallery spaces.  There are thirty permanent sculptures and site-specific artworks dotted around throughout the park, by leading artists including Christian Boltansky, Anthony Gormley, Anish Kapoor, Phyllida Barlow and Charles Jencks.  As well as the permanent installations, Artland has a seasonal programme of curated exhibitions throughout the year from a plethora of artists, both established and emerging.

The park was a nominated entry in the Art Fund's Museum of the Year.  

Two people stand on a wooden deck by a barn overlooking a calm pond in a sunny green park with trees and blue sky.
Rivers by Tanya Kovat

Our time was nearly up, but there was so much to see at Jupiter Artland, and it was well worth the journey. We'll surely be along for another visit.

More can be read about Jupiter Artland here: https://www.jupiterartland.org



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