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Wild Eye Coastal Art And Nature Trail

Visualisation of ‘Sea Oak’ by artist Paul Morrison, due to be installed in Scarborough Harbour in March 2024 as part of Wild Eye. 

‘Sea oak’ sculpture by Yorkshire artist Paul Morrison to be unveiled in Scarborough as part of Wild Eye Coastal Art and Nature Trail.

A seaweed-inspired sculpture will launch on 11th March in Scarborough Harbour as part of the Wild Eye art and nature sculpture trail, celebrating the extraordinary wildlife and marine life found on the North Yorkshire Coast.

This new public sculpture by internationally-renowned, Yorkshire-based artist Paul Morrison, will join existing Wild Eye artworks from Ryan Gander and Juneau Projects, with further commissions planned from leading artists Jeremy Deller, Emma Smith and Shezad Dawood & Daisy Hildyard

The sculpture launch will be accompanied by a seaweed sun print exhibition at Scarborough’s Market Hall, presenting artwork made by local community groups, in collaboration with Scarborough-based artist Jacqui Barrowcliffe.

Alongside this, there will be a public talk by Professor Juliet Brodie, Seaweed Specialist at the National History Museum - Saturday 16th March, 2pm, Scarborough Library.

Book your place for Juliet's talk

‘Sea Oak’ brings to the surface the beauty and importance of seaweed to our precious marine environment. Seaweed plays a vital role in creating dynamic underwater habitats for a wide range of species. It also can help us tackle climate change due to its fast growth, power to oxygenate seawater and absorb carbon. Yorkshire Wildlife Trust is delighted to be collaborating with Invisible Dust and the local community on ‘Wild Eye’ to bring this new sculpture to Scarborough Harbour, as a world-class example of how the arts can engage new audiences with nature.
Rachael Bice, Chief Executive Officer, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust
A metal seaweed sculpture positioned on the end of a harbour looking out to sea.

Visualisation of ‘Sea Oak’ by artist Paul Morrison, due to be installed in Scarborough Harbour in March 2024 as part of Wild Eye. 

Made from water-jet cut stainless steel, the newly-commissioned work, entitled Sea Oak, will be installed in Scarborough Harbour, overlooking the North Sea. Created in the shape of Fucus Vesiculosus or Bladderwrack - an ecologically-important seaweed species common to North Yorkshire - the highly-polished structure will reflect both the viewer and the ever-changing coastal conditions, celebrating the important role that seaweed plays in contributing to the health of the ocean, whilst inviting audiences to reflect on their own interconnection with the natural world.  

Bladderwrack (commonly known as ‘Sea Oak’) seaweed has been chosen due to its essential ecological benefits, such as carbon sequestration, oxygen production, and habitat provision, supporting biodiversity and maintaining marine ecosystem health.

The bladderwrack sculpture will be a fantastic addition to Scarborough’s harbour. Having another artwork by an internationally renowned artist join the other Wild Eye sculptures is a real asset to the town. The sculpture will help boost nature tourism as well as providing a new experience for residents to engage with the local environment and raise awareness of climate change and its effect on our coastline.
Cllr Derek Bastiman, North Yorkshire Council's Executive Member for Open to Business

Paul Morrison has been commissioned as part of Wild Eye, an ambitious art-nature project by Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and Scarborough-based art-science organisation Invisible Dust. The project engages with leading artists to create new works that celebrate North Yorkshire’s amazing wildlife and marine life, while raising awareness of the need to protect both against pollution and climate change.

A metal sculpture of plant leaves on the bottom and single stem shooting out with a round head.

Paul Morrison Phylum, 2008, past work also using polished stainless steel

Sea Oak will connect 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 art trail between Scarborough and Whitby by 2025.

The development of the seaweed sculpture was accompanied by a series of free creative workshops for local groups that took place in late Spring last year, led by Scarborough-based artist Jacqui Barrowcliffe.

Participants from Scarborough Sixth Form, Scarborough Disability Action Group, Gallows Close Community Centre and Barrowcliff Primary School were shown new photographic techniques, and taught how to develop seaweed sunprints whilst discussing the importance of seaweed for carbon capture and biodiversity.

Artist Jacqui Barrowcliffe with the Wild Eye seaweed cyanotype banners in Scarborough Market Hall.

Artist Jacqui Barrowcliffe with the Wild Eye seaweed cyanotype banners in Scarborough Market Hall.

Following initial exhibitions of the community’s work in Scarborough in 2023, these artworks will return to the Market Hall from Friday 23rd February until Monday 18th March to coincide with the sculpture’s launch.

I am really looking forward to seeing Paul Morrison’s beautiful reflective bladderwrack sculpture in front of one of Scarborough’s famous sunsets. Art makes us look at something we might view as everyday such as seaweed in a new way. Wild Eye sculptures are forming a trail to celebrate our incredible coastal nature, encouraging local people and visitors to understand more about and wish to protect our natural world.
Alice Sharp, Artistic Director, Invisible Dust

Paul Morrison’s Sea Oak was selected by a local community advisory group in Scarborough. Current group participants include members of Scarborough’s Disability Action group, Scarborough Civic Society, Big Ideas by the Sea Festival, Seawatch Foundation/Scarborough Porpoise, Scarborough Sixth Form and College, CU Scarborough and Coast and Vale Community Action.

While the sculpture draws inspiration from seaweed there is an obvious visual connection to the air we breathe and the health of our lungs. Seaweed absorbs CO2 more effectively than trees. It also improves water quality by extracting harmful nutrients such as nitrogen from the sea, which is good for the environment and good for the planet. So the sculpture functions on many levels, firstly as a beautiful work of art and secondly as a reminder to ourselves that the health of the planet above the waterline and below is all interconnected.”
Kane Cunningham, Scarborough-based artist and Director of Big Ideas by the Sea Festival
It’s inspiring that Scarborough will be hosting an artwork by an internationally acclaimed artist in a location that is free and accessible to all. The seaweed sculpture will be an asset for the town and the local community, increasing understanding of the nature on our doorstep and raising awareness around climate change. Connecting to art and nature also has proven benefits for mental health and wellbeing.
Mel Bonney, CEO of Coast and Vale Community Action Association

Thoughts from Artist, Paul Morrison

I’m delighted to have been able to create a sculpture for Scarborough Harbour. It’s such an amazing location, where the artwork can reflect the changing conditions of the sea and sky. I knew about the medicinal properties of seaweed and its importance as a habitat for marine life.

What I hadn’t realised is just how effective seaweed is as a store for carbon and that it absorbs Co2 more efficiently than trees. The piece will inevitably mean different things to each viewer depending on the person’s experience, memories and associations but I’d be very pleased if one of the things it does is to provide an opportunity for people to pause and consider our interdependence with nature.

Wild Eye is funded by the Towns Fund drawn from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities administered through North Yorkshire Council. The project aims to support long‐term sustainable economic growth for Scarborough’s nature-culture tourism market, while supporting reconnection with the environment.

For further information, imagery or interview requests, please contact Cate Holborn at Yorkshire Wildlife Trust on cate.holborn@ywt.org.uk

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