Liverpool Plinth
The Liverpool Plinth is an art space that showcases sculptures for a 12-month period on a plinth outside Liverpool Parish Church in Liverpool, UK. The Liverpool Plinth, in the mould of Trafalgar Square’s Fourth Plinth, occupies a prominent position overlooking Chapel Street and Liverpool’s waterfront. It laid empty since the removal of Brian Burgess’s “Christ on a Donkey” several years ago.[1]
First set up in 2018, each sculpture is chosen via a competition open to artists living or working in the north of England (North West, North East, Yorkshire and the Humber).[2] The winner receives £1000.
The project was set up by Liverpool BID Company, working with Liverpool Parish Church along with city gallery and art organisation, dot-art.[3][4]
Winners[]
Dates | Winning Sculpture | Artist | Description | Picture |
---|---|---|---|---|
June 2018 – June 2019 | Gold Lamé[5] | Tony Heaton | Materials: Fibreglass, steel, automotive paint.
Dimensions: 9’9”(h)x4’6”(w) 525(h)x137(w)cm Created: 2014[6]
The Invacar was a societal response initiated by the government in recognition of the increased number of former servicemen injured in the Second World War and a lack of access to public transport.
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June 2019 – July 2020 | Split Decisions[5] | Sam Shendi | Materials: Bronze, steel, castors
Dimensions: 420(w)x120(h)x80(d)cm [8]
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July 2020 – July 2021 | Tidal Shame[11] | Gail Dooley | Materials: Stoneware Ceramic, Metal and Found Objects
Dimensions: 168(h)x93(w)x80(d)cm[12]
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July 2021 – Present | Jimmy[14] | Faith Bebbington | Materials: Plastic milk bottle coat, steel, willow and wire inner framework
Dimensions: 175(h)x75(w)x155(d)cm
Horse Power was a fibreglass resin piece that celebrates the heritage of traditional horse drawn boating and led to National Waterways Museum inviting Bebbington to develop a horse boating themed lantern project to engage the local community. Shortly after the project began, Bebbington fell ill and the life-sized framework for the horse lantern sat in her studio for many years. [15] After the world went into lockdown in 2020, Bebbington decided to complete Jimmy using the cladding of the original framework with added thousands of plastic milk bottles that were washed, cut up and then stitched onto the wire framework. Named after a retired working horse that Bebbington loved to ride regularly as a child, Jimmy was a spirited, rather stubborn horse who would regularly buck riders off! Jimmy now represents those horse drawn boats that were one of the main forms of transporting goods in the UK around 1740. The setting of The Liverpool Plinth is an ideal home for Jimmy as the sculpture now looks towards the Waterfront and the Leeds Liverpool Canal link, which has been open to boats since April 2019. [16] |
References[]
- ^ "'Liverpool plinth' set to host sculpture every year". BBC. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
- ^ "The Liverpool Plinth 2019 - Call for Submissions • dot-art". January 15, 2019.
- ^ "'Liverpool plinth' to host new sculpture". 14 October 2017. Retrieved 2019-07-31 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ Weston, Alan (13 June 2018). "Striking new artwork unveiled in Liverpool city centre". liverpoolecho. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
- ^ a b "Music and Arts". Liverpool Parish Church.
- ^ "Sculptures by Tony Heaton". Tony Heaton. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
- ^ "Dadafest 2014 art of the lived experiment review". Disability Arts Online. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
- ^ "Sculpture Split Decision". Saatchi Art. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
- ^ "Only Human by Sam Shendi". Sam Shendi. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
- ^ "The Liverpool Plinth". Sam Shendi. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
- ^ "Liverpool Plinth sculpture highlights 'shocking' sea pollution". BBC. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
- ^ "Gail Dooley Installation Artist". art&. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
- ^ "A sculpture warning of the risks of climate change to stand on The Liverpool Plinth". Liverpool BID Company. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
- ^ "Horse sculpture made from recycled plastic bottles unveiled on the Liverpool Plinth". itv. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
- ^ "Horse Power". Faith Bebbington. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
- ^ "The Liverpool Plinth 2021". dot-art. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
Coordinates: 53°24′26″N 2°59′41″W / 53.407182°N 2.994823°W
- Outdoor sculptures in England