So, life as a hedgehog in Trowse. Sounds quite nice... but how did it all begin?!

Back in 2003 when Norwich City Council had to take action to remove the Spikey tops off school railings (to save against any child causing considerable damage to themselves). One of my neighbours (a certain Mr. Kentish) happened to be passing the school in Trowse when the Council were removing the spikes. In a flash of inspiration, he asked if he could have the removed spikes, to which the happy council workers agreed.

As time passed, these little Spikey pieces of railings sat huddled together in a large container in a dark wooden shed... waiting. Oh, the anticipation! What would they become?

It wasn't until early in the summer of 2004 was the plan unveiled to these little spikes. A conversation here and there soon unravelled the idea of creating a little hedgehog for the village of Trowse. A way of giving back to the villagers something that for over a century had been part of the Village.

And so, in my final few weeks as an MA Fine Art student at the Norwich School of Art and Design (NSAD) I was able to spend a time making creating 'Spikey'. First things first... I had to remove the century old paint from the spikes! Not as easy as I thought it would be... but after 4 solid hours of grinding each side of every spike (around 300 spikes in all), it was time to start welding!

EDP article (PDF)

Evening news article (PDF)