‘The Meeting Place on the Plinth’, created by sculptor Richard Harris, is a distinctive curving structure which emanates from the south side of the building’s plinth. The 39 slate stones, which form the work, come from the same quarry, Cwt-y-Bugail, near Llan Ffestiniog, that supplied the slate used in and around the Senedd.
Each stone was selected by the artist from the last batch of raw slabs quarried at Cwt-y-Bugail using traditional blasting methods. The slabs were hand marked by the artist, and transported to the Ffestiniog quarry for cutting on the quarry’s wire saw. It took up to two days to cut each slab. The estimated weight of the work is 45 tonnes.
Artist’s Statement
“From my first thoughts for this commission it has been important to me that my work should form a relationship between people, the building and the wider context of the bay.
The sculpture is constructed from the same slate used in and around the Senedd building; quarried from high up within a mountain near Ffestiniog. The stones are large and raw compared to those used in the building; sawn and gathered together, they create a delicate wing like structure that curves around the corner of the building. Although the stones have been left in their natural un-worked form on the outer edges, the inner curve is smooth - creating a new and intimate space, where I hope people will want to spend time.”
