Award-winning Artist, David Harber, introduces his latest piece – a bespoke sculpture for a private island off the South Coast of England. The piece takes its name, Ortus, from the Latin ‘sunrise’, which was chosen by the family who commissioned it. David Harber accompanied Ortus on its maiden voyage to its new home from Poole Harbour.

The work is based upon David Harber’s iconic Torus, but has been customised to reflect the rugged landscape of the island on which it will sit. The end result is a striking 3.25m Iris’ of copper pipe, suspended within a majestic marine-grade stainless steel ring. Using ancient astronomical observations and an accurate engraved compass plate, the entire sculpture is designed to be rotated by hand each evening so as to align with the point on the horizon where the sun will rise the next day, appearing through the kaleidoscope of copper branches at the sculpture’s core.

David Harber comments: “The owners wished to have a sculpture that had an astronomical use, and a striking modern use of materials that would complement the wild nature that will surround it. This resulted in the seemingly random interconnected labyrinth of Verdigris copper rods held within a mirror-polished, stainless steel, knife-edged rim giving the feeling of an all-seeing eye to the sun.”