The most haunting and unexpected display of public sculpture I've ever run into is the Forest of Dean Sculpture Trail in western England on the Welsh border. I've run into sculpture trails since, but this one is by far my favorite.
It was started in 1985 with a call for entries to artists in many media from all over the world to create a trail in which sculptures would interpret the forest. The results were thought-provoking and had something to do with the forest, its wildlife, history or mystique. Because the forest isn't a park, but a working resource, the trail had to be specially designed. The exhibit changes, and two of my favorite pieces have gone, but new artists continue to contribute fascinating works for the trail. What's most satisfying and exciting about the pieces is the way they all relate to the forest. None are generic, all are site specific in the best sense of the tradition. Once you enter the forest, you are drawn to the total experience through osmosis, almost, in viewing the sculptures. The works gain power from their surroundings and the viewers connect with the environment as they never could otherwise.
Because of the success of an exhibit in 2001 called Lightshifting, the trail keepers are now exploring ways to use light, sound and new media in interpreting the Forest.
(Photos from the Forest of Dean website)
3:54:07 PM 
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