Seeds of Change – Winter Sculpture Park 2025
LUAP unveils Seeds of Change, a major public art installation exploring resilience, impermanence and renewal at Winter Sculpture Park 2025, supported using public funding by Arts Council England.
From 1 March to 26 April 2025, LUAP presents Seeds of Change as part of the fourth edition of Winter Sculpture Park. Installed across four acres of rewilded land on the former Thamesmead Golf Course in South-East London, the exhibition introduces two sculptural elements — one large, one small — brought together through a shared narrative of change, repair and quiet strength.
At the centre of the site stands the Inflatable Pink Bear. Measuring three metres tall, this familiar figure from LUAP’s practice becomes a landmark in the open landscape — still, grounded, and symbolic. The Pink Bear serves as a constant presence in LUAP’s work, embodying emotional complexity, psychological resilience and the navigation of inner terrain. Here, it stands alone in the landscape, exposed to weather and time, but unwavering — a symbol of quiet endurance.
In contrast, the ground is scattered with dozens of small Seed Heads — hand-cast forms made from plaster, soil, watercolour and wildflower seeds. These sculptures are fragile by design, intended to break apart in just a few days. As they crumble, they release their seeds into the land, feeding the process of natural regeneration already taking place on the former golf course. These small acts of ecological participation mirror the emotional experience of release, repair and new growth.
““The seed heads reflect how we might feel fragile or broken, but also hold the potential for something to grow. Sometimes things need to fall apart before they come together.””
At the opening of the exhibition, LUAP works directly with local residents through a hands-on seed-making workshop. Participants range in age from toddlers to elders, coming together across generations and lived experiences. The workshop becomes an informal space for conversation, creativity and connection — where art becomes a shared act, and every person, regardless of background, plays a role in shaping the landscape. The diversity of voices and perspectives is felt not in statements, but in gestures: the way hands of all sizes work with the same materials, the way stories are exchanged in the process of making.
The Seed Heads made during the workshop are planted throughout the sculpture park, while others are taken home, extending the project into homes and gardens across the local community.
Supported using public funding by Arts Council England and the Thamesmead Community Fund, Seeds of Change builds on LUAP’s previous public art practice across the UK and Europe, further exploring impermanence, emotional symbolism and environmental participation.
Alongside the installation and opening-day activity, LUAP delivers a six-part workshop series in collaboration with MIND Bexley. These sessions support participants in exploring mental health through creative expression — using art as a tool for reflection, dialogue and emotional resilience.
The wildflower seeds embedded in each sculpture are chosen in consultation with a local pollinator-focused community group, ensuring the project directly supports biodiversity. When the sculptures break down, they leave behind not only traces of human touch but new life — colour, habitat and change.
Seeds of Change is a public work that connects people, landscape and inner experience. It asks what happens when we break down — and what can grow when we do.