Coventry artist says statue celebrates new life in city

A statue which represents new life, new possibilities and new beginnings is due to be unveiled in Coventry.

The Phoenix Tree has been designed by artist George Wagstaffe and will stand in a new Coventry University peace garden.

Mr Wagstaffe said it was based on intertwined trees he had seen from his caravan in Wales.

He said it continued a theme of rebirth which started with the Phoenix statue he created for the city in 1962.

Coventry University had been carrying out a redevelopment which included the creation of an open green space, the statue's home, between Coventry Cathedral and Cox Street.

The work also involved the demolition of the Alan Berry building.

The new garden was to be a place for students, staff and others in the community could come to reflect and "build on our city's rich heritage of innovation and peace", university vice-chancellor Prof John Latham said.

A number of George Wagstaffe's works were on display in Coventry including the Phoenix in Hertford Street

Mr Wagstaffe, who used to lecture at the university, said he was first approached with the commission to create a new work of art six years ago.

However he said the idea for it came from a "strange phenomenon" he observed more than a decade ago.

• Listen: George Wagstaff on his inspiration for Phoenix Tree

He explained he bought a static caravan in Wales with his late wife, when she was diagnosed with motor neurone disease.

One day he said he noticed "a series of trees that were clustered together" and was told they had grown from the remains of another tree which had fallen down and been covered with earth by a farmer.

He felt it fitted his recurring theme of rebirth which tied in with the 1962 Phoenix sculpture on Hertford Street.

That artwork was produced to symbolise the city rising from the devastation of World War Two.

Mr Wagstaffe, who is a survivor of the Coventry Blitz, said he felt the theme suited the university too which he said was "bringing new growth and new hope and youth to the city".

The statue is 20ft (6m) tall on its plinth, stands facing the city's cathedral and will be officially unveiled on 17 January.