Spirit of Place
How do we reconnect people with the landscapes and materials that sustain us?
Spirit of Place is a public installation exploring our relationship with landscape, material and cultural memory through a family of monumental sculptural forms.
Commissioned for the London Design Festival 2023 in collaboration with Amorim Cork, the project was inspired by Brewster's visit to the cork oak forests of Portugal. Encountering both the landscape and the centuries-old traditions surrounding cork production prompted a reflection on the ecological and cultural significance of one of the world's most remarkable renewable materials.
Installed on The Strand in central London, the sculptures draw on the visual language of architectural columns, ceremonial vessels and totemic forms. Together they evoke a forest of cork oaks, inviting visitors to experience the quiet presence of the landscape within an urban setting. Each sculpture reflects one of the qualities that ensure the resilience of the cork oak—drought resistance, fungal resistance, upright growth and vitality—transforming these ecological characteristics into sculptural expression.
Occupying the space between sculpture, architecture and environmental storytelling, Spirit of Place reflects Brewster's ongoing interest in creating works that reconnect people with material, place and the natural world.
Let’s Work Together
For commissions, exhibitions, acquisitions, speaking engagements or collaborations, the studio welcomes enquiries.