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Call of the Sea

For behind the scenes and making of, see here.

Half goddess half woman, found,
Real and imagined,
She embodies the truth about us
And the human condition,
And the fragility of the world in which we live,
And the oceans from which she came
For us
Here


Thank you to the commissioning team and Blackpool Council for putting trust in me and allowing me to embark on this new creative journey.

Thank you to Richard and the Beach Patrol Team for introducing me to the amazing local sea life you have here. I carefully represented local sea shells, cold water reef coral, and vulnerable species in Call of the Sea.

Thank you to Caroline at the History centre, who showed me old and precious photographs of festival queens, ball room dancers in their elegant and floaty gowns, and famous women divers in their swimsuits, lounging on the beach. These all inspired this character.

Thank you to the children who produced the drawings for the statue.
Drawings of sea gods and goddesses. Drawing of warriors, powerful and fearless characters and protectors of the sea, holding shields and saws. Drawing of beautiful mermaids with sea shell crowns and little starfish friends.

Thank you to the passers by on the promenade, and staff in local shops, who created poems with us.

Thank you to the fashion students who created some amazing costumes and props,
And special thank you to Holly who let us paint her body from head to toe with blue paint, just so that we could test what a blue statue would look like.

Thank you to Tom, Chris and Cintia at Castle Fine Arts foundry, for spending hours and hours to make our vision a reality, from 3d scanning, to foam cutting, wax melting, bronze pouring, and patina and painting. Their workshop has been my second home for the last few months!

Thank you to Streetlife for the inspiration and warm welcome, and for introducing me to Charlotte.

And finally, a massive thank you to Charlotte who has let us immortalise her face within this new statue. Thank for being an inspirational young woman, thank you for your energy, passion for the sea, and community spirit.

In this statue, you represent the people of Blackpool, but you also represent us all, as both destroyers and protectors of the environment. In this statue, shades of reds and blues collide and come together to represent this ongoing contradiction within us.

She holds beautiful and fragile sea life to her heart. She raises a conch shell as an emergency Call of the Sea.”

Laurence