Wild Uplands: Sculptures to be dotted across Yorkshire landscape which inspired Brontë sisters

A huge tower reflecting the district’s wool heritage, dozens of marble butterflies and supernatural creatures inspired by the Cottingley Faries hoax will be on display at Penistone Hill Country Park until October as part of a Bradford 2025.

Wild Uplands officially opens on May 24, but earlier this week media were given a tour of the installation while the finishing touches were being made.

The sculpture trail will be accompanied by a series of free events on the moors and in Haworth.

Four international artists were chosen for the outdoor exhibition – each one taking inspiration from the moors and the wider district.

Tower is the largest piece of art on the trail, and is a shrine to two of the materials that helped Bradford develop – stone and wool.

Standing at around 10 metres tall, the tower is the highest point on the moors. It has been designed to look like it has been built from stone blocks – the type that were quarried in the surrounding areas and used to build many of the grand buildings in Bradford.

It is covered will wool cut from around 500 local sheep, representing how the wool trade led to Bradford becoming an international powerhouse for textiles.

At the centre of the tower is a huge archway, inspired by designs on many local buildings, that passers by can walk through.

The huge artwork has been created by Steve Messam, an environmental artist based in rural County Durham. Another installation is found in a part of the country park that was once a quarry.

The area has become home to dozens of marble butterflies of various size, created by Pakistan artist Meherunnisa Asad.

At Thursday’s tour, she said she didn’t want the work to “take over” the landscape, but instead be a “subtle message.”

The work is inspired by both the nature around the moors, the lives of the Pashtun ethnic group in Pakistan, and the journeys taken by those who have migrated to Bradford.

The butterflies, in various shades of pink, have been created from marble from Pakistan, and built by hand.

The work is called 99 butterflies, and Ms Asad said the name is meant to represent “a journey never complete” – as it will never reach 100.

Two of the butterflies were recently destroyed, with police investigating. Ms Asad said the butterflies were designed to be sturdy, but added: “We didn’t plan on people vandalising them with tools.”

Muamba Posy is a series of large interactive sculptures that are designed to reflect on the ever-changing cycles of nature on Penistone Hill.

The brightly coloured sculptures are meant to evoke the oversized plants and vibrant wildlife that once thrived in the area, while also taking inspiration from heather, bilberries, tomentils, damselflies and other plants and creatures that define this landscape today.

The installation has been developed by Vanessa da Silva is a São Paulo-born, London-based artist who works across sculpture, textiles, installation and performance.

For her installation Monira Al Qadiria Kuwaiti artist, now based in Berlin, took inspiration from the Cottingley Fairies hoax.

Over a century ago two young girls in Cottingley took photos of themselves with “fairies” they claimed to have encountered in their garden. The images spread throughout the country, with many believing the girls’ story.

The fairies were in fact paper images that had been cut out and placed in the garden.

Ms Al Qadiri used the story to develop her own “Cottingley Faries.”

She has used images from a 12th century manuscript that show Djinn – Middle Eastern supernatural creatures.

These images have been turned into 2D steel sculptures that have been fitted into the landscape – a modern version of the Cottingley Faries photos.

The bizarre creatures, including a fish with a human head, a fire breathing snake and a centaur, appear with he rolling moors behind them.

The works have been commissioned by Bradford Culture Company, the group that runs Bradford 2025.

Wild Uplands is free to attend, and is open 24/7. The exhibition is accompanied by and audio trail called Earth and Sky.

A partnership between Bradford 2025 and Opera North, the project has seen composers Caterina Barbieri, Nyokabi Kariũki and Gwen Siôn create new music and sound works inspired by Penistone Hill – and by the music of Bradford-born composer Frederick Delius.

The ever-changing sound world uses state-of-the-art geolocation technology: with what you hear through your headphones triggered by every step you take. The app to allow people to access the music will be available to download from May 24.

There will be a family friendly launch event for the trail on Saturday May 24. Visitors will be able to complete the family activity trail, tune in to live Bhangra, Dhol and Brass music joining an outdoor procession with Punjabi Roots, and make their own sculpture to take home.

There will also be free facepainting and henna. That event runs from 11am to 3.30pm.