Title: Night time scene
Location:The Norman Leddy Memorial gardens, Hayes

This sculpture was commissioned by Hillingdon Borough Council to make best use of a fantastic old Yew tree that had died, possibly from a lack of water with the water table dropping over the preceding ten years. It is one of a series of four pieces commissioned around the borough.

The council allowed Tom free reign in coming up with imagery and a theme for the sculpture which he was very grateful for. Within this piece Tom is looking at how nature always finds its way in to the man made environment and how within suburbia fluid and mysterious creatures exist.

The fox is a source of fascination to the artist. It is the largest predatory mammal in the country which has an age old antagonistic relationship with man, being viewed as evil ( especially in Christian mythology and symbolism) and as a creature not to be trusted. It has been chased the length and breadth of the country possibly due to the associations attached to it. Yet here it is in our major cities digging up peoples gardens and waking us at night with its unnerving cries. It is a creature that lives between worlds in many senses and is incredibly adaptable, beautiful, shy and ruthless. The fox is a fine example of how you should 'never turn your back on mother nature'.

Within this sculpture the artist creates a narrative, forming a scene of a girl watching the fox at night. It is looking at a moment in time and evokes a sense of fascination and awareness between the fox and the girl.