Location
Yard behind fish merchants near harbour
Peterhead, Aberdeenshire
OS Map Reference
NK 135 462
Date
2006
Description
Glasgow based Stephen came to an outsider’s conclusion, based on the architectural layout and history of Peterhead that he had observed, that “Peterhead is and has always probably been an unpretentious working class community. Taking into account the town's social and economical history and its reliance and existence on the fishing industry, there seems to be a functional no nonsense attitude when it comes to the towns general look." He also noted a lack of any decadence with the town’s character, in the form of frills, “aesthetics for aesthetic sake”. His intervention aimed to address some of these issues that the granite town portrays.
His artwork, an animated neon light depicting a sperm whale in motion, introduced a suggestion of colour to the granite town. Neon light was chosen because of its cultural use in other British coastal towns, notably Blackpool’s illuminations. Presented in the style of a 3ft by 2ft boxed exterior shop feature and located outside a traditional local fishmonger's, the whale quietly pulsated, attracting attention and curiosity to the location. The whale is a reminder to the inhabitants of the town that their
forefathers, on regular expeditions to Greenland, would have witnessed these magnificent creatures in the last true wilderness of the planet; a natural phenomena which only a few of us are likely to see in our life times.
Related Information
A temporary installation created to coincide with a conference in the town on public art, in 2006 'perceptions-people-place- the art of regeneration.'
Era
2000s
Related Artefacts
Categories
Iconography
- whale
Creator
- Stephen Healy, Artist
Photographer
- Duncan Brown
Unavailable Data
- Information Source
- External Links
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