Artwork celebrates moorland heritage

AMY CRAFTS A SPECTACULAR INSTALLATION FOR HEALTH CENTRE

- By ATHWENNA IRONS

A NEW public artwork celebrating Dartmoor’s heritage and landscapes has been installed at a South Devon health centre, created by a Plymouth artist.

The cast glass and steel installation, titled ‘Diamond River’ and created by Amy Whittingham, was unveiled at the entrance of Ashburton and Buckfastleigh Health and Wellbeing Centre.

Commissioned by Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust & NHS Charities Together, the piece celebrates local heritage while enhancing the arrival experience for patients, visitors and staff.

Made from recycled glass remelted in Arts University Plymouth’s hot glass studio, Diamond River transforms impressions from local sites, from Haytor Rocks to Buckfast Abbey, into a river of shifting blue light - offering moments of reflection, curiosity and calm for all who pass through the centre.

Amy, workshop coordinator for glass at Arts University Plymouth, said: “Every texture in Diamond River carries a story - from the worn toe of St Peter touched by countless pilgrims, to the granite of Haytor shaped by Dartmoor’s weather.