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A sculpture resembling a tall stack of red pillows stands in front of red brick buildings

Red Stack

A sculpture resembling a tall stack of red pillows stands in front of red brick buildings

  • Artist: Shaikha Al Mazrou (b.1988)
  • Date produced: 2022
  • Medium: Fibreglass and resin 
  • University Collections

Red Stack is a sculpture made of bright red fibreglass and resin. It looks like a pile of oversized pillows - soft in shape, but made from hard materials. The way they’re stacked makes it seem like they might slide off at any moment, adding a playful sense of movement.

The sculpture references the University of Birmingham’s famous red brick buildings, especially those in Chancellor’s Court. It gives a modern and joyful twist to the University’s historic architecture.

Red Stack was first shown at Frieze Sculpture in 2022. It was brought to the University's Edgbaston campus in 2025 to celebrate the University’s 125th anniversary.

Find out more about how we selected Red Stack

Sculpture through a green lens: equity, representation and environmental justice

Red Stack is a significant new addition to the university’s campus. Its striking colour and bold form make it visually distinctive, and it is also the first sculpture on the trail created by a female artist. Viewed through a sustainability lens, this invites a wider question: why does gender diversity matter in environmental thinking?

Environmental challenges are not gender-neutral and often affect women and marginalised communities most. This is largely because they make up the majority of the world's poor, who are highly dependent on local natural resources for their livelihood. At the same time, diverse perspectives lead to more innovative and effective solutions. Approaching sustainability without equity overlooks the systemic inequalities linked to overconsumption and environmental harm. By diversifying what we collect, study, and engage with, we can deepen our understanding of sustainability and how to practice it more responsibly.

Visual description

Red Stack is a 4-metre-tall fibreglass and resin sculpture. It has the appearance of an oversized stack of six pillows placed on top of each other. The sculpture is a bright vivid red and stands in contrast to the green of the surrounding grass and trees. It is set back from the path and rises directly from the grass. It has no plinth.