A POPULAR sculpture in the heart of a local community is to be given a makeover after 26 years.

Nexus, which was created by Japanese sculptor Hideo Furuta in 1986, is situated in Freshbrook Village Centre and has become a centrepiece for local residents.

However, years of wear and tear have resulted in a deterioration in the wooden foundations based underneath the large stone carvings.

Coun Cindy Matthews was contacted by a local resident concerned about the sculpture and its future.

She said she was delighted that Swindon Council agreed to give the eye-catching piece of art a makeover so residents can enjoy it for years to come.

“The artist was here for several months back in the 80s putting the sculpture together so a lot of the residents saw it originally being done,” she said.

“I was asked if there was anything we could do to help preserve it because it is in quite a bad way – it is quite a sturdy structure, I think some of the local children even play on it, but part of it had broken off when I went up to see it, and some of it has started to rot.

“I think the residents wanted something done to prevent it being taken away altogether, it has been a feature in Freshbrook since it was built.

“I’m pleased that the council have been able to find some money to give it a bit of care and replace the rotten wood. I am sure local residents will be pleased.”

Artist Hideo, who was born in Hiroshima in Japan, came to the UK in 1985.

He moved to Swindon with his family and spent six months on site carving huge blocks of blue pennant stone from a quarry in South Wales – the same stone as used at Stonehenge – into three interlocking segments which are mounted on wooden railway sleepers.

The project was originally funded by Thamesdown Council’s per cent for art scheme, which set out to encourage developers to allocate funds to finance contemporary art.

Hideo left 26 large granite sculptures for public sites all over the country before he died in 2007.