Visiting Portishead just after Christmas, I was hoping for a few dazzling photos of blue skies, boats and views out to sea, instead the day was misty, the Marina looked enchanting in a different way than I had expected. I was suddenly very aware of the Jon Buck sculpture bright among the mist, and thought I'd have a look at the history behind the 20 sculptures situated around Portishead as part of it's regeneration over the past 20 years, from brownfield site to a mixed use development.
There's a great website which tells the Portishead story over this time. I've taken some extracts below, firstly the reason for the decline of Portishead:
'From the mid-Victorian era onwards, Portishead enjoyed a global sphere of influence as ships from across the world carried cargoes to and from its deep water dock. These glory days faded in the 1980s when the closure of the town’s dockside power station forced much associated activity to a halt.'
Then the bit about the effect of the public art:
According to the website, it's called 'Ship to Shore' and Jon says:
'The inspiration for this work came directly from the physical and historical context of the dockside in which it is placed. The form of the work reflects the shipping bollards that still exist along the old quayside. Superimposed is a male head looking out to sea and above is his female counterpart facing the opposite direction. This makes reference to the dichotomy that was always present in seafaring communities. Ship to Shore was a type of communication used to connect the two''.
Jon Buck was the first Thamesdown Artist in Residence in 1984, many of his sculptures and those around Swindon can be seen here.
Here's Tim enjoying the beach with a view of the trees in the mist behind him.
A view of the disused pier and the remains of the old wreck
There must also be great views from here when it's not misty
the tide was out when we visited
and the lock gates linking the marina to the sea, there always seems to be a bit of a leak
Next time I visit Portishead, I'll follow the trail and locate the rest of the sculptures.
There's a great website which tells the Portishead story over this time. I've taken some extracts below, firstly the reason for the decline of Portishead:
'From the mid-Victorian era onwards, Portishead enjoyed a global sphere of influence as ships from across the world carried cargoes to and from its deep water dock. These glory days faded in the 1980s when the closure of the town’s dockside power station forced much associated activity to a halt.'
Then the bit about the effect of the public art:
'A cultural sea-change has washed through Portishead over
the past decade. More than twenty world-class visual artists have
created public artworks that respond to the town’s rich history and
heritage. Contemporary and traditional, figurative and abstract,
reaching to the sky or rooted closed to the ground; the resulting works
are startling in their diversity yet united by a common exploration of
people and place that embeds them in the local community.
This
artistic renaissance has been precipitated by the creation of Port
Marine, an acclaimed mixed use development, set around a new marina,
that regenerates a disused brownfield industrial site.'
This is the Jon Buck sculpture which I think is fabulous
'The inspiration for this work came directly from the physical and historical context of the dockside in which it is placed. The form of the work reflects the shipping bollards that still exist along the old quayside. Superimposed is a male head looking out to sea and above is his female counterpart facing the opposite direction. This makes reference to the dichotomy that was always present in seafaring communities. Ship to Shore was a type of communication used to connect the two''.
Jon Buck was the first Thamesdown Artist in Residence in 1984, many of his sculptures and those around Swindon can be seen here.
Further along the Marina, near Hall and Woodhouse is this sculpture 'Flying' by Lucy Glendinning, she says of the sculpture:
'"I wanted this sculpture to reflect the feel of the site, to give
the sense of scale that being by the sea gives us, the feel of the wind
and its effect. The impression of freedom and power the sea lends
through its elemental force, as well as being a point of travel and
adventure.
The flying figure gives the sculpture a gravity-defying energy, an uplifting and celebratory sense which communicates a conscious or subconscious confirmation of human achievement.”
The flying figure gives the sculpture a gravity-defying energy, an uplifting and celebratory sense which communicates a conscious or subconscious confirmation of human achievement.”
There's lots more to see of the public art in Portishead, on the Portishead Quays website, there's a great map of the sculptures.
I did also take a few photos of the beach by the The Royal Inn, my favourite choice for food, or a quick drink in Portishead, the views across the sea are wonderful.
And along the beach you can't see much
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