The Lovers’ Arch, Glasgow Caledonian University

Brief: ‘… reflect the innovative character of the new Learning Centre and help to establish [it] as the social hub of the campus’

Portland limestone, 2006
13 stone blocks of various sizes.

Winner of this limited competition Breeze’s sculpture for the external courtyard of the new Saltire Learning Centre is a disassembled arch reminiscent of an ancient academic grove. Building on his interest in dialect and the process of translation the thirteen stones are carved with an Ode by Horace which takes the form of a conversation between two lovers with a translation into Scots dialect by Charles Murray. What we see in this dissembled message is a set of blocks ready for re-assembly (like the couple in the song), full of potential like an unformed mind, and the meaning can be deciphered with a little effort – a gentle hint for the student! The commission was arranged by Art in Partnership.