Malmesbury-based inventor, Tom Lawton, founder of Uplifting Products, is launching a crowdfunding campaign on Valentine’s Day to bring to life his latest creation – Wonder – and install it permanently in Malmesbury Abbey.

Wonder is a mesmerising, moving sculpture that rotates, moves and spins and is based upon an ingenious spiralling form created by Tom.

A small prototype has been quietly on display in the town during lockdown to see what residents make of it. To date the response has been very positive.

“As an artist and inventor, I simply looked to create the most beautiful thing I could imagine," said Tom.

"I feel strongly that peace of mind is sacrosanct to our wellbeing and, with the constant barrage of negativity we've all experienced over the past year, I wanted to find a way of deeply uplifting, relaxing and distracting ourselves from the constant stream of bad news around the pandemic, the monotony of being in lockdown and the unpleasantness of having our movements restricted – and Wonder came to me!

“It’s resonant of the spiral of our DNA and spirals in nature and is engineered with mathematical precision to have a mesmerising effect.

"I believe Wonder invites you to pause, step outside of yourself for a moment, breathe and take time to just look at it and enjoy the flow of the sculpture.”

The Reverend Oliver Ross from Malmesbury Abbey said: “Tom’s wonderful creation has a sense of infinity, divinity and eternity.”

“The medieval chapel at the Abbey seems the most befitting place for Wonder to find its first ever home and here it will stay for the enjoyment of all."

“I believe in creating beautiful objects which are environmentally responsible and made to last,” Tom added.

“Wonder is designed to last for at least 100 years, so a 12th century abbey will be the perfect setting.”

Inventor Tom believes passionately about giving back and, at the beginning of 2020, he pledged to donate £10 from every sale of a solar-powered sculpture he designed to sit on a windowsill and which was inspired by the ocean and the motion of the waves.

Tom also donated three limited edition ‘Blueprint of a Rainbow’ prints to support key workers over Christmas.

One of the prints was donated to Hyperion House Care Home in Fairford and will be put up on a blank wall at the end of a corridor that divides the old wing of the home from the new build that was completed just over a year ago.

It is planned to hold a grand unveiling ceremony virtually on March 2 with twice mayor of Fairford and Hyperion resident, Trevor Hing MBE, unveiling the glorious illustration and with Tom in attendance on Zoom.

The Wonder Kickstarter fund aims to raise at least £18,000 to make and install an original Wonder, made using advanced manufacturing and finished in polished gold and set on a moving plinth, which will be donated to the town by Tom in perpetuity.

If the campaign raises more, then Wonder will be re-engineered, so that it can be powered by solar energy and made more widely available.

Those who wish to invest can do so from as little as £10, which will see their names added to a commemorative brass plaque near the installation evidencing the individuals who contributed.

Those who wish to give more can do so and, for donations of £300 or more, each investor will be given a limited edition print of the installation and one of Tom’s famous Uplift 2.0 spiral sculptures.

To support this crowd-funding campaign visit: www.tomlawton.com/wonder.