‘The Child Sculpture’ is of a young boy reading a book, and was created by Paula Riley for the Loughborough in Bloom campaign in 2015.

The sculpture is a collaboration between Charnwood Borough Council and Loughborough University and is currently (February 2019) inside the Carillon Court Shopping Centre.

Its current position is not that great to be honest but it’s still a pleasure to come across the work itself as one walks through the uninspiring mall.

Paula, who goes by her artist name ‘Priley Riley’ says of her work:

“I wanted to create something which represented the Ladybird Book’s centenary, so I thought a simple concept of a child reading a book showcased this perfectly.

“To make the sculpture, I first constructed an armature which I modelled the original clay child over. I then cast this clay child in plaster and used the plaster moulds to cast resin into. The final sculpture, therefore, is a glass fibre resin cast. The sculpture itself took months to make”

The little boy in the sculpture reminds me of the little boy shaped collection box that the Blind Society used to place in the street, often chained to the wall, with a slot to put coins in as you walked passed.

Paul Conneally
Loughborough
February 1st 2019