Jubilee Gardens
Teumessian Fox, Laelaps

Titled Teumessian Fox and Laelaps, Simon Periton's large-scale sculptures are installed at the eastern and western entrances of Persimmon Homes new residential development site Jubilee Gardens, forming a pair of works that connect landscape, community, ecology, and the cosmos.

The artworks are rooted in a unique blend of research into the site and inspired by Warminster’s expansive skies and surrounding landmarks, including Cley Hill and Arn Hill Down. 

The titles of the works draw on classical Greek mythology, referencing the Teumessian fox, an animal destined never to be caught and Laelaps, the hound that never failed to catch its prey. Faced with this paradox, Zeus transformed both creatures into stone and cast them into the night sky as constellations; Canis Minor (Teumessian Fox) and Canis Major (Laelaps). Periton adopts this irresolvable pairing as a conceptual device, two forms held in permanent relation to each other yet never meeting, echoing both the logic of celestial alignment and the tension between fixed points in the landscape.

The project draws on Warminster’s rich historical context from ancient monuments and local folklore to ecological insights into chalk grassland habitats, rewilding initiatives, and the vital role of oak trees in supporting biodiversity and carbon capture.

Teumessian Fox, located at the entrance to Jubilee Gardens from Victoria Road, takes the form of a monumental carved oak-leaf sculpture in granite, approximately four metres tall. Featuring two circular apertures, the work is carefully aligned so that people approaching from the east can view Cley Hill and potentially the setting of the star Procyon, through the openings. The piece references ancient megaliths and stone circles, anchoring the work in deep geological and cultural time.

Laelaps, located at the entrance to Jubilee Gardens from Bath Road, is a complementary sculpture that echoes the oak leaf motif in knapped flint and pebble, referencing the local chalk and flint landscape. Like its counterpart, it incorporates “eye” openings that frame views across the landscape, visually connecting to the eastern sculpture and encouraging movement and exploration.

Together, the two sculptures are conceived as a unified artistic gesture, bookending the site while inviting people to navigate between them. Their alignment mirrors celestial patterns, creating a dialogue between land and sky, past and present, science and myth.