The Black Cloud sculpture in Bedminster's Victoria Park was taken down yesterday.

The sculpture has been a fixture there since July, but on Saturday around 70 people gathered for its last performance.

The crowd were ushered underneath the sculpture by masked performers bearing candles.

Huddling under blankets and warmed by hot soup, they were entertained with a performance by the Bristol-based, Full Beam Visual Theatre Company.

A mix of masked performers and puppets told a mythical tale about the Black Cloud.

The sculpture is the brainchild of artists Heather and Ivan Morrison. In July around 60 volunteers helped erect the huge piece of art, and, in the five months it's been standing in the park, it has only been vandalised once.

Claire Doherty, 39, director of Situations, the company that commissioned the work, said: "It's made of wood, so it's been really vulnerable but people had a real sense of ownership about it and a sense of it being part of the park.

"It's changed with the seasons too.

"It began with a big picnic in the summer and then ended with people huddling in blankets."

Since July the Black Cloud has played host to Tai Chi at dawn, workshops, debates, music performances and a memorial vigil on September 11. It will now go back to the artists in Wales before heading to another city.

Alf Havvock, councillor for Windmill Hill, said: "There is no doubt the Cloud has attracted more people into the park than I have seen in many years.

"It is a magnet in people's minds. It is precisely ideas such as this that knit a community together."

If you have any pictures or memories of the Black Cloud you would like to share, contact Situations at www.situations.org.uk