SATRA has commissioned local Northamptonshire artist, Martyn Paul Steele, to create a contemporary sculpture to stand as a reminder of 100 years of research and testing.
Steele was inspired by the forces of stress and tension played out on materials under test after visiting SATRA’s laboratories. To represent this, he conceived the idea of solid COR-TEN weathering steel plates pulled apart by 100 stainless steel cables clamped and tightened in stone. The evolving dynamic contrast will emphasise the uncompromising nature of scientific investigation and precision as materials and components come and go over time.
The work when complete will be installed externally at SATRA’s headquarters in Kettering.
Steele studied fine art sculpture at Loughborough University and has been artist in residence at several schools and colleges. He lives on a narrowboat on the River Nene and works from his studio workshop at Upper Harlestone in Northamptonshire and the family blacksmith forge in North Yorkshire. Steele works mainly in stone, steel and wrought iron, aiming to find the unity between sculpture and the environment.
SATRA is an independent organisation providing international product research, testing and supply chain technical services. The company was established in the UK in 1919 and now has technical facilities in Europe and China serving customers throughout the world.
