Bronte Moors artwork for Bradford 2025 finds new home

Last year, the moors above Haworth were home to a series of striking sculptures by different artists – part of the Wild Uplands arts installation.

Wild uplands ended in Autumn, and the sculptures were removed from the site.

Now one of the artists’ Wild Uplands sculptures have gone on display in the popular sculpture park – continuing the legacy of Bradford 2025.

Vanessa da Silva’s Muamba Posy was a collection of colourful sculptures that were the first impression for those visiting Wild Uplands.

The installation at Penistone Hill (Image: T&A)

The huge, twisting features were commissioned by Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture.

The installation’s large organic forms and vivid colours were inspired by the area’s ever changing cycles of nature, where life has continuously adapted over time.

Vanessa-da-Silva’s Muamba-Posy Photo Copyright India-Hobson courtesy YSP (Image: India-Hobson courtesy YSP)

Announcing the artwork’s move to the park, a statement from Yorkshire Sculpture Park said: “Around 300 million years ago, in the Carboniferous period, Penistone Hill was part of a lush tropical forest with a climate similar to today’s Amazon. The sculptures draw on the flora and fauna of that ancient ecosystem while also reflecting the contemporary landscape, echoing indigenous plants such as heather and bilberry. 

“Muamba Posy’s metallic tones evoke species adapted to mineral-rich soils, creating a visual bridge between deep geological time and the living ecosystems that surround us today.

Vanessa-da-Silva’s Muamba-Posy Photo Copyright India-Hobson courtesy YSP (Image: India-Hobson courtesy YSP)

“Muamba Posy evolves ideas seen in Da Silva’s earlier work Muamba Grove (2019), displayed in YSP’s Lower Park. They explore movement and transformation, bodies in flux shaped by the landscape and each other, inviting interaction between sculpture, the human body, and the environment.”

The artist said: “I see the sculptures as a space for people to gather, to pause and connect with the nature around them… I’d like visitors to leave with a sense of calm, connection, but also  joy.”

The work also reflects da Silva’s own identity as a Brazilian living in the UK, and the title is a combination of Brazilian Portuguese and English words; Muamba – a slang term for smuggling goods across borders – together with Posy, a small bouquet of flowers.

Commenting on the new works at YSP, Head of Programmes, Dr. Alex Hodby said: “Da Silva animates the landscape with vibrant reflections on time, ecology, and identity.”