Pittu Pithu Pitoo at Yorkshire Sculpture Park

Yorkshire Sculpture Park

West Bretton

WF4 4LG

Nestled a short walk from Lower Lake, Pittu Pithu Pitoo (2022) by Simeon Barclay depicts a cockerel resting on a stone-like formation. The sculpture’s form and title relate to an ancient traditional Indian game played by the artist in his youth. Played by two teams, it involves a pile of seven precariously assembled stones and a ball. The artist reflects that these cluster or layers not only represent the sediment that forms our environment, but also references the way that humans accumulate knowledge.

Installed close to important works by pioneering Yorkshire artists Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore, Pittu Pithu Pitoo acknowledges these sculptors, who were also inspired by YSP’s breathtaking landscape. Prior to joining over 90 outdoor sculptures at YSP, Pittu Pithu Pitoo was on display in the City of London. Its new home, surrounded by veteran trees on the historic Bretton Estate, gives it a new sense of scale and importance.

Simeon Barclay said: “I am a product of my environment. As a maker, born and invested in developing my practice in the region, I have come to acknowledge that my work acts as a language to suggest the many facets of that experience. The opportunity now to broaden that conversation both locally and globally within one of the country's most significant institutions provides an immensely exciting prospect”

Pittu Pithu Pitoo was commissioned by South London Gallery for the solo exhibition In the Name of the Father (2022).