Hitchin Friends reveal peace sculpture

'The two loops have been made separately but look intertwined.'

A stainless steel sculpture called Unity was installed in Hitchin Meeting’s peace garden last month.

Chris Kell, from Hitchin Meeting, told the Friend that it had taken four years for the sculpture to be put in place, since two students from the Hitchin Boys’ School came up with the idea in 2018. After asking the boys if they would design something for the Quaker burial ground to convey a message of peace, Chris Kell told them they wanted something ‘eye-catching enough to go at the front of the garden, and multi-faith in nature. This was one of three drawings created by Rohan Gidha and Noel Strickland, then in the sixth form’.

The production process involved consultations with two woodworkers, only to find that wood would not be durable enough. In 2019, several Hitchin Friends discovered sculptor Diane Maclean, who agreed to work to their design.

Chris Kell said that the brushed stainless steel of the sculpture ‘catches the light. The two loops have been made separately but look intertwined. It looks quite different from different angles…We couldn’t have come up with a more creative definition of Unity – that which is separate but comes together in harmony.’

The sculpture was funded by a grant of £2,000 from North Herts Council and a crowdfunding appeal, raising £5,000 in a month, with an additional £1,000+ secured from Gift Aid. Another £2,000 was funded through personal donations from Hitchin Friends.

Hitchen Quakers is holding an opening ceremony for the sculpture on 2 July at 2.30 pm with all Friends invited. Diane Maclean will talk about public art, and Quakers about the peace garden.

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