This year the Roman Theatre are honoured to be hosting a sculpture by local artist Angela Mellen. If you’ve already visited the Roman Theatre this year you will have seen Angela’s fabulous willow sculpture ‘turbulence’, which graces the roof of the hilltop bar and cascades down the hill. Angela’s willow sculpture was first shown at St Albans Cathedral, for the project Watershed: A River’s Call to Action, May 2025, with artist collective, Cross Arts Projects, XAP.
We caught up with Angela for a chat about this spectacular piece of work.
What inspired you to create ‘turbulence’.
I was participating as a working volunteer for the Ver Valley Society, maintaining the banks of the river Ver. We were pollarding large quantities of willow to keep the tree canopy under control.and I thought it would be fantastic to use the willow to create something. My artist friend Laura Decker annd Liz Sergeant and I are members of an art collective called Cross Arts Projects XAP, founded when we graduated from Central St Martins College Fine Art degree. We had the opportunity to create a piece for an exhibition within St Albans Cathedral. Laura wanted to use her skills in interactive video projection of river footage and alongside that including Liz poems, I wanted to use the willow to make a sculpture. I was inspired by the large space in the Cathedral and wanted the willow to cascade down within the fabric of the building so it became a waterfall. I loved the thought of the idea of biblical stories flooding the cathedral.
Tell us a little about your process
It took a while to understand how I was going to form the structure. The most important part is how the structure is supported, and it was important to me that the willow supported itself, to be resonant of water. It’s called ‘turbulence. to reflect the vulnerability and vitality of our rivers. I love exploring new crafts and skills to make a piece for a particular theme. The willow was kindly donated by Gorhambury estate. The sculpture mimics the interplay of water currents, the movement at different depths in the water column. The willow moves organically, finding different directions of travel, like water.
Has bringing the sculpture outside changed it?
I love being outside. I love the outside elements so I was very happy to move it here to its new home. Willow is a sustainable material, it’s used to being outside. Installing it at the Roman Theatre brings a mystical element to the piece. It has a surreal and magical feel. Here it reminds us that we can’t just take water for granted. We have to look after our natural resources and be aware of the changes in our climate affecting the river environment – increasing rainfall, flash flooding and the accompanying pollution. We need to value and look after our waterways.
How do you hope the audience respond to your piece?
I wanted to add to the Roman Theatre experience, creating a wow moment. I hope this piece puts them in a mood of excitement for what they’re going to see next.
You can see Angela’s sculpture at the Roman Theatre Open Air Festival until 31st August 2025.
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