‘Alphonso’, is located on Little Callow Mound in Newton Leys; the sculpture includes a decorative archway and seat which overlooks Willow Lake and the environment around it. The artwork forms part of Milton Keynes Council’s ongoing Public Art commissioning programme — since the town’s inception in the 1960s, more than 250 artworks have been created, all of them within the public realm. ‘Alphonso’ is the most recent addition to this ongoing commitment to the council’s ambitious and strategic public art commissioning initiative.

Developed in dialogue with residents, ‘Alphonso’ takes the form of a triangular, three-sided lakeside folly. The sculpture incorporates an abstracted hand-painted image in blue and white glaze. Inspired by Azulejos, and built from wood-fired handmade brick, it depicts the local area, its wildlife and history. Further motifs can be discovered on the façade that looks toward the wood, where raised and cut brick slips are arranged in a geometric fish motif that ripples across the surface.