Man Croesi | Crossing Place

Summary

The proposed wayfinding artwork Man Croesi (Crossing Place) for Haverfordwest will connect significant locations along the prominent Western Cleddau, emphasising the ancient link between town and river as well as making visible the town’s hidden history, such as ecclesiastical sites, maritime, industrial and trading heritage. A series of larger semi-abstract bronze sculptures suggest medieval church architecture, each consisting of two intersecting upright forms with a cruciform footprint and a pointing arch fragment. The surface texture of the green/brown bronze is shaped with water texture as a reference to the importance of the river while back-lit laser-cut text steel elements add a literary dimension. Two variants are offered in the proposal: a single, large gateway feature or multiple smaller sculptures at various locations. Either variant is complemented by a series of small in-ground or wall-mounted low-relief panels: eight panels with water texture - a suggestion of the ford or crossing place - that serve as way markers and four replicas or low-relief panels of archaeological objects found in the town. The circular shape of these low-relief panels are a reference to Roman and medieval coinage found in Haverfordwest, and a metaphor for its history as a significant historic trading port.