Turner Prize-nominated artist Phil Collins returned Friedrich Engels to the city where he made his name – in the form of a Soviet-era statue, driven across Europe and permanently installed in outside HOME in the centre of Manchester.

Kelsen was commissioned by Manchester International Festival to re-create the statue plinth which had been defaced. Using photographs and approximate sketches we designed and cast six replacement concrete panels to mimic the original plinth including re-creating the Cyrillic embossed text. We transported the plinth from our Glasgow workshop and completed the installation ready to receive the statue in time for the much-anticipated opening ceremony.

Finishing work on-site included hand touching the concrete to provide the patina required on the completed installation.

• Art Installation