People
by Florence Ng

The concept behind People which Florence designed and created was inspired by the idea that despite contemporary reliance on technology, it is still human relationships which drive any organisation. This was in response to the brief from Seagate which required an outdoor work that embodied values such as teamwork, people and innovation. The requirements were also for a work that was weather resistant and harmonized with the surroundings. The result was a four-metre-high blown glass and cast concrete sculpture designed to remind the viewer of people in conversation.

The base, with its two rows of curled concrete pillars looking like bent figures in conversation, had to be carefully drawn in terms of proportion, since opposite ends worked like a seesaw in balance, and weight was a consideration. The heads of blown glass are shaped more like pieces of M&M candy,” says Florence, “to give it more personality, and then marbled on the inside with glass paint. I wanted them to look like undiscovered planets in a distant galaxy.”

Unique about People is the way such a massive installation was formed in an artisanal, handmade approach. “Instead of solid cast concrete, which would have made the piece too heavy, we built a skeleton over which we plastered on the concrete, lending an organic, handmade feel which cast concrete cannot do,” Florence says. She adds, “I like how the lighted spheres of blown-glass are like neverending sparks of ideas which we often refer to as our ‘light-bulb’ moments.”