Tracing Systems – Phase 2: Co-Authored Torus Sculptures
Location
Staunton Country Park, Hampshire
Duration
May 2026
Materials
Seven woven grapevine tori constructed from vine clippings sourced from Ashling Park Estate; rope from Emsworth Slipper Sailing Club; site materials and temporary spatial supports.
Authorship
Dawn Sculthorpe Hayter / SculthorpeStudios with the Red Glove Co-Artists
System Design
Phase Two extended the participatory land art process into a structured series of co-authored sculptural instantiations. Using seven pre-constructed grapevine tori, participants generated 11 distinct spatial configurations through placement, orientation, stacking, suspension, balance, proximity and interaction with site.
Parameters
Number of tori, participant movement, site conditions, material density, available supports, group decision-making, spatial constraint and time shaped the resulting forms.
Description
Tracing Systems: Phase Two — Co-Authored Torus Sculptures documents 11 sculptural outcomes developed through structured participation at Staunton Country Park. The work examines how a shared set of materials can generate multiple forms when activated by different participants, spatial decisions and site-based constraints. Each sculpture is recorded as both a physical configuration and a trace of collective decision-making, showing how form emerges through interaction rather than solitary composition.
Phase relationship
This phase follows the earlier participatory land art work, in which the torus forms were made, tested and introduced as shared sculptural materials. Phase Two shifts the project from collective making into co-authored sculptural configuration.
Background: How the Vine Tori Were Made
The seven grapevine tori used in Tracing Systems were constructed by hand on site at Ashling Park Estate by Dawn Sculthorpe-Hayter. The making process formed an important part of the project’s sculptural methodology, translating raw vine material into large-scale armatures for subsequent co-authored installation. A 12-step video documenting the Vine Torus Armature Method is available here: Watch the 12-step Vine Torus Armature Method on YouTube
Torus Sculptures Catalogue
This catalogue documents 11 co-authored sculptural outcomes developed as part of Tracing Systems at Staunton Country Park, Hampshire, in collaboration with the Red Glove co-artists. Working with seven woven grapevine tori, the series explores how participatory system design can generate varied sculptural forms while also reflecting the lived experience of navigating bureaucratic, institutional and administrative systems.
Each sculpture is recorded with materials, dimensions, site details and a short interpretive text covering both sculptural form and system experience.
SculthorpeStudios 