A CONTROVERSIAL temporary artwork in the dale has been dismantled, its materials sent for recycling and the land returned back to nature.
Hush, by Middleton-in-Teesdale artist Steve Messam caused a stir on social media when it was unveiled. Not all of it positive. However the installation has proved to be a big success.
Mr Messam said: ” Well over 5,000 people have visited the site over the last 17 days. Normally nobody goes there.
“To put the figure into some sort of context, it is almost five times as many people as the population of Middleton-in-Teesdale.”
People from all over the country visited the site.
One couple travelled from Wales with the sole purpose of viewing the Hush after hearing about it on BBC Radio 4’s World at One programme.
Mr Messam said: “Many of the people who have visited have found it to be moving and spiritual experience.
“Some people have been moved to tears, which certainly wasn’t my intention.”
Director of the North Pennines AONB Partnership, Chris Woodley-Stewart added: “The Hush has been a tremendous success.
“It has brought thousands of people into Teesdale and given people an opportunity to think more deeply about what makes the landscape in the upper dale so special.”
He added: “The Hush has meant that Teesdale has been seen around the world in a very positive light, on television, in newspapers and on the internet.
“It has also supported the local economy.”
Although now dismantled the Hush will not be forgotten, Mr Messam said.
“We have had people take some of the fabric to make into furniture and want to reference the Hush as part of its provenance.
“We have also had people using it for their own creative purposes, taking photographs, videos, painting and sketching and even writing poetry.”
Meanwhile, Mr Messam is in danger of entering the English dictionary as an eponym.
Barnard Castle restaurant Spice Island, which is undergoing refurbishment, has used temporary drapes to cover some of the improvement works and took to social media saying: “We’ve gone all Steve Messam and installed our own Hush exhibition in our restaurant.”
