In 2016 I was introduced to a man from Connecticut who had seen my ‘Unicorn of France’ at a neighbour’s house near Avignon. The man from Connecticut also had a house in the south of France and wanted to commission a sculpture for the garden.

Me and Lucy flew to New York where I was to meet the man, and that was the start of a really special experience that resulted in ‘Metamorphosis’.

We sat in his office and talked about the things that interested him; artworks he liked; life experiences, and music (he is a great musician), and after that we exchanged ideas and sketches by email until we arrived at an idea that excited both of us. I had made a maquette, and we both felt it would be appropriate for me to take it to his home in France and discuss where and how it might fit in.

He chose to commission the final sculpture and I got to work with help from Simon Hebditch’s team at ‘Inspired Metal’. By June 2017 we were ready to deliver and install. The images here show the finishing touches in the workshop, and some of the transport (thanks to Blackmores of Yeovil) and installation.

I was delighted with the finished work, and even more delighted to receive the following testimonial from the client later that year: ‘Tom has helped us realize a work that is entirely original and in some ways site-specific. He has brought perceptiveness and grace to an idea that took flight in his hands. The result was remarked upon by a major collector of conceptual art who is a friend of ours: ‘I feel as if I am looking at music incarnate, probably Mozart if I had to guess…’