The whole idea is to create a beautiful silhouette against magnificent skies, which would become a feature of the Island from any approach. There is a safe viewing area at the Island where people can park to view and photograph if they so wish. The sculpture, enhancing the environment in a beautiful and distinctive way will focus Tourist Visitors to the past heritage of the area and give an identity for local people of their rural culture.

The sculpture will be in a high profile position and will be seen by many passing people, these will engage with the work as they go about in their lives, it is intended to give them a ‘feel good’ factor. The local response has been immense and very supportive about the idea. The figurine has implied movement and there will be a musical fipple sound from the flute to give an extra dimension.

Every culture has a variety of images shown by its arts which people find enjoyable since they can and do respond to their significance. Included are ways of symbolically presenting places with significant images through the chirograph of the artist. By selecting the significant and producing images depicting ‘moments in time’ the artist makes visual comment and observations of a genre of a place in its setting. Tourist visitors are unaware of the heritage in this area, and the depiction of the subject would not only emphasise the tradition and historical past but educate where presently ignorance might exist. I want also to give significant art works to the presently neglected rural communities. It is an opportunity to ‘capture’ the Island as an Art space. It is sensory in its concept and connects humans with feelings of their past heritage. There is a strong incorporated message of a work ethic connected to responsibility.

Artists’ build up a philosophy that defines what they are about. I would like to build up the responsibility that the artist owes to society, as he/she is in a privileged position, and I also wish to develop ‘Rural’ imagery in a Fine Art way, which is much neglected. I wish to contribute to the society of my surroundings and help create an aesthetic, which promotes an aesthetic and an idyllic understanding of the rural community. For the past five years the artist has worked as Artist in Residence at Castle Howard Estate, York, and was trained at the Slade School in his early years, working for Sir Henry Moore as an apprentice. Although ‘abstraction’ is still in vogue, this traditional design is a more appropriate style for the traffic Island and the subject. The design is intended as a ‘Public Heritage Sculpture’ serving several purposes. It could be seen as a traditional sculpture, a statue, a monument, a memorial, a celebration of the past, an icon, a sign, a symbol, a landmark, an effigy, or just an ‘aesthetic’ which ends up as a silhouette of beauty against the wonderful skies on top of the hill. All of them provide a strong information link to the past history of the area. It will also be placed on a site where sheep grazed in the past, intending to give a ‘grandeur’ to this rural subject.

The subject is very appropriate to the area, and easy to ‘read’ as a historical sculpture. Interestingly, there is a rare breed of sheep in the surrounding fields at present and sheep have in the past grazed upon the space where the Dotterel Island is sited. Although there are some Suffolk sheep about in this area, the most famous ‘Rare’ breed is part of the Speeton flock of English Leicester Long Wools. This flock has been with the same family since 1834 and is one of the oldest flocks in the U.K. Currently this is prized by the A.B.Coleman Group at Speeton Village. The Figure of the shepherd is based upon a Character the artist remembers as a youngster, as he has lived in the area for the past fifty years.




The brief technical aspects of the design of the sculpture and its base, is that it will have a thick skin of special resin reinforced with fibre glass, with a 50 m/m Iron armature made by a blacksmith, to give the main support, and this is to be fixed within the base. The statue will be filled with liquid concrete, or resin and fixed into a base of 6’ x 6’ x 6’ for strength and as a counterweight to the height, the width of the base is two fold, one is as a counterbalance and the other is for scaffolding space, this will be needed to finish

the sculpture when finally erected, and to service it if ever needed. The colour will be ‘muted’ as a sort of Bronze. This dark quality adds to the image to emphasise the silhouette’s power and will give an emotional ‘feeling’ to the subject.

The Artist will make all of the artwork. Balfour-Beatty designers have already been kind enough to offer advice about ground conditions and I expect the concrete base will need a foot of hardcore under the concrete base.

The Dotterel Inn Proprietor has kindly offered to include and display some information about the sculpture inside the Dotterel Inn (where a maquette detail of the Shepherd will be on display for inspection at close quarters) when the project is finished. There will two signboards which give the story, acknowledge sponsors, benefactors, patrons who contribute to the project together with information about the art work.

Publicity in the local newspapers has been covered early, as it answers questions of public interest in the project. References to the project are in The Filey and Hunmanby Mercury, The Scarborough Evening News, and The Bridlington Free Press.

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An application for part funding has been made to the Arts Council, other match-funding is being arranged and I have had private donations.