A HOMECENTRE in Cirencester is housing an Abbey 900 inspired hare sculpture for this year’s Cotswold Hare Trail.

Alex Beeching, an artist from Gloucester, has designed ‘Augustine’ the hare who is housed upstairs in Gardiner Haskins on Dyer Street.

Marking the 900th anniversary of Cirencester Abbey, Alex has designed his hare in a neo-Cubist manner to reflect the kaleidoscopic changes Cirencester has undergone since 1117.

Inspired by French artist Henri Matisse’s famous quote: “'Exactitude is not the truth” – rather than adopt a literal-minded approach to his design, Alex went for something altogether less conventional.

Using multiple viewpoints, overlooking planes and fragmentation, some of the mainstays of Analytical Cubism and Synthetic Cubism, Alex has successfully intrigued many shoppers who have so far visited the hare.

Steve Whitcombe, director of Gardiner Haskins, said: “We’ve had a really positive response from shoppers.

“People are really keen to tick off all the hares they find on the trail.

“We’ve been involved since the first trail a couple of years ago,” he continued.

“We were one of the first companies to get on board. We’re very keen to support initiatives like this in the Cotswolds.”

Gardiner Haskins has also launched its own selfie competition to help promote the project.

You can upload a selfie with Augustine to the Facebook page ‘Gardiner Haskins Cirencester’ to be entered into a competition to win £100-worth of vouchers for the store.

What’s more, the Bristol branch of Gardiner Haskins also has its own hare decorated by Jane Holford Atkin called Isambard or ‘Izzie’.

Jane’s design is a celebration of the engineering legacy of Isambard Kingdom Brunel in Bristol.

Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard:

Isambard or ‘Izzie’ by Jane Holford Atkin in the Bristol Gardiner Haskins