Tracing Systems Phase One – Collaborative Land Art

Location
Staunton Country Park, Hampshire

Duration
February–March 2026

Materials
Material found on site at Staunton Country Park; including leaves, sticks and stones. Vine clippings from Ashling Park Vineyard; rope from Emsworth Slipper Sailing Club.

Authorship
Dawn Sculthorpe Hayter, SculthorpeStudios with the Red Glove Co-Artists

System Design
Phase One established the collaborative foundations of Tracing Systems through open-ended land art activities. Rather than working towards a predetermined sculptural outcome, participants explored the site’s natural materials through making, experimentation and collective play. The emphasis was on developing confidence with materials, becoming familiar with the landscape and building the shared relationships that would support later phases of the project.

Parameters
Participant interests, available natural materials, weather, terrain, time, group dynamics and spontaneous experimentation shaped each activity. Rather than defining a single outcome, these conditions encouraged exploration, adaptation and collaborative discovery.

Description
Tracing Systems: Phase One introduced participants to the project’s collaborative approach through a series of temporary land art explorations at Staunton Country Park. Working with leaves, sticks, stones, pine cones, vine clippings and other site materials, the group created a range of ephemeral interventions, including collective arrangements and a human mandala. These activities were intentionally exploratory, allowing participants to experiment with materials, respond to the landscape and develop confidence in making together without the expectation of producing a final artwork.

Rather than investigating systems directly, Phase One established the social, material and environmental relationships that later enabled the project’s systems-based inquiries. It created a shared culture of observation, experimentation and collaboration that became the foundation for the subsequent development of the torus sculptures and the exploration of systems through sculptural practice.