Visualisation of ‘Sea Oak’ by artist Paul Morrison, due to be installed in Scarborough Harbour in March 2024 as part of Wild Eye.
(c) Stuart Baines
The sculpture is made from water-jet cut polished stainless steel, which is not only eye-catching and able to reflect the surrounding coastal environment, but is also extremely robust - critical given the exposed nature of the site right on the edge of the sea.
The project was developed by Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and Invisible Dust. The artist and the design for the sculpture was selected in consultation with a local community advisory group, comprising members of organisations including Scarborough’s Disability Action group, Scarborough Civic Society, Big Ideas by the Sea Festival, Sea Watch Foundation/Scarborough Porpoise, Scarborough Sixth Form and College, CU Scarborough and Coast and Vale Community Action.
The Wild Eye project has been allocated funding under the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities’ Towns Fund, which is administered by North Yorkshire Council, to deliver long‐term sustainable economic growth for Scarborough specifically through growing its nature-culture tourism market and supporting reconnection with the environment and local wildlife. Wild Eye is delivered in partnership with Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, a regional environmental charity, Invisible Dust, a Scarborough-based art-science charity and North Yorkshire Council.
The Wild Eye project and sculptural commission is a Town Deal-funded project. A Town Deal board for Scarborough, comprised of representatives from various local organisations in the public, private, and voluntary sectors, was established to review proposals, develop Town Investment Plans, and ensure that both Whitby and Scarborough submitted a bid to the Government’s Towns Fund by autumn 2020. Following 10 months of engagement and analysis, a Town Investment Plan (TIP) for each town was created, backed by their respective Town Deal boards, to help deliver long-term economic growth and post-Covid recovery. The TIPs cover themes such as skills and enterprise, cultural activities, the environment, connectivity, well-being and sustainability. Wild Eye was selected as a priority project within the cultural strand.
Wild Eye engages with leading artists to create new, site-specific works that uniquely celebrate North Yorkshire’s amazing wildlife and marine life. The project aims to foster a greater understanding of the incredible wildlife found across the North Yorkshire Coast, raising awareness of issues around nature, biodiversity and climate change and offering a new year-round art and nature tourism offer for the region.
Paul Morrison’s Sea Oak connects with existing sculptures by Ryan Gander and Juneau Projects at Scarborough Castle and Whitby Harbour, with further artworks from artists Jeremy Deller, Emma Smith and Shezad Dawood & Daisy Hildyard set to complete the 3.4 miles (5.5km) Wild Eye art and nature trail by 2025.
The cost of the ‘Sea Oak’ sculpture includes:
No. Wild Eye is funded by the Towns Fund drawn from central government and has been specifically assigned to the development of a nature, art and culture offering in Scarborough. The funding aims to promote year-round tourism and assist with economic regeneration and post-Covid recovery. This funding is not from local council funds and could not have been used to fund local services. It has come to Scarborough from central government specifically for this project.
In 2022, CaVCA managed consultation and community engagement for Phase 1 of Wild Eye and undertook the distribution of a questionnaire at multiple and different types of community events. Out of 112 respondents, 95% welcomed a project linked to seaweed. Conversations with residents about Wild Eye have taken place at further community engagement events since 2021. These include activities such as audio podcast interviews featuring over 30 locals, Free Family Open days at Scarborough Castle, pop-up events at Scarborough Market, participation in Scarborough’s Big Ideas by The Sea and Seafest Festivals, attended by over 6,000 people, as well as involvement in Sea Songs, a young people’s project created with Scarborough Sixth Formers.
Wild Eye consults regularly with members of local organisations and communities, holding regular advisory group meetings.Current participants include members of Scarborough’s Disability Action group, Scarborough Civic Society, Big Ideas by the Sea Festival, Sea Watch Foundation/Scarborough Porpoise, Scarborough Sixth Form and College, CU Scarborough and Coast and Vale Community Action. The participants of this advisory group helped to select this latest artist and seaweed sculpture design.
There is no relationship between the two projects. Both projects have received central government funding from the Town Deal, however they were conceived as separate projects with separate funding streams and no co-dependencies. Wild Eye extends beyond the harbour and will create a trail of high-quality accessible outdoor artworks, events and digital experiences that will link together existing Wild Eye locations (in Whitby Harbour and at Scarborough Castle) with three new areas - Marine Drive, Scarborough Harbour, and the Cinder Track.
No. Wild Eye has liaised closely with the council engineer and the harbour master to select the location for the sculpture. The precise location of the artwork is on the southern end of the first elevated section of the pier, which is enclosed by railings. It is approximately 32 metres from the Tunny Fish sculpture, which is a similar base structure. This section of the pier was rebuilt and resurfaced in 2001 as part of wider coastal defence work, so there is no intervention into the historic fabric of the pier. The application has been granted Listed Building Consent.
The landscape and setting was very carefully considered so the sculpture does not present a significant visual intrusion. With a maximum height of 3 metres, it appears relatively modest against the backdrop of the Castle Headland cliffs to the North and the views out to the bay to the South and East. In addition, the highly mirrored surface of the polished steel reflects the light of the sea and sky, causing it to blend in with the setting. It does not therefore dominate or obstruct any of the views.
Paul Morrison is a Yorkshire-based artist. Wild Eye works with high-profile artists with a national and international reputation, with a view to drawing art and nature tourists to Scarborough to see the unique, locally inspired artworks and giving local residents direct access to world-class art. The project brings Scarborough the asset of an artwork by an artist who also has work in, for example, the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Wild Eye is also working with local artists alongside the main sculpture commissions - e.g. Scarborough-based artist Jacqui Barrowcliffe has held free workshops for local people to create sun prints, which will be exhibited in Scarborough’s Market Hall.
The sculpture was not transported far. Artist Paul Morrison is Yorkshire-based and the sculpture was made in Nottinghamshire by a specialist art metal fabrication company. The plinth it is set on is made from a low-carbon concrete, which uses recycled materials rather than extracted ones. The sculpture will have at least a 15 year lifespan and will need minimum maintenance as the polished stainless steel maintains its finish well and doesn’t corrode.
To find out more about Wild Eye (www.wildeye.org.uk), how to you can get involved and how you can sign up to the Wild Eye mailing list, please visit https://www.ywt.org.uk/wild-eye-newsletter
Invisible Dust is a Scarborough-based charity. They work with artists and scientists to produce unique, thought-provoking works of art that help people to connect with the pressing environmental issues of our time. www.invisibledust.com
Yorkshire Wildlife Trust is a charity dedicated to conserving, protecting and restoring wildlife and wild places in Yorkshire. The Trust’s vision is for a Yorkshire that is abundant in wildlife, with more people having a genuine and meaningful connection with nature. The Trust was established as a charity in 1946, and is part of The Wildlife Trusts movement. The Trust looks after over 100 nature reserves right across Yorkshire, and is involved in hundreds of other conservation-related projects. The Trust’s work inspires people to understand the value of nature and how to take action for it. https://www.ywt.org.uk/about-us/who-we-are
