Richard Woods’ ambitious NewBUILD installation at New College was created in 2005 and remained in place for several months. This was his first major outdoor work in this country and the project was one of several installations to use ‘red brick’ cladding made of wood to encase buildings, designed to change our perceptions of structure. The building used in New College was the 14th century Long Room and bath-house. The artist employed his trademark block printing system to create a super-sized red brick graphic over the Cotswold stone exterior. The ‘Lego’ effect that this produced stood out in stark contrast to the more traditional medieval architecture that surrounded it, and succeeded in creating debate and dividing opinion. It is true to say that no one remained neutral to the project.
For more discussion of this installation, see the Ruskin and Marco Livingstone, Richard Woods (Oxford: Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art; London: Art Works in Wimbledon, 2006).