A blank canvas on a bleak hillside as sculptor plans new public artwork

Aug 31 2007 by David Bartlett, Liverpool Daily Post

A LANDMARK piece of iconic art set to become Merseyside’s answer to Antony Gormley’s Angel of the North statue will be up to 18 metres tall, it was revealed last night.

The project by Spaniard Jaume Plensa will be between 16 and 18 metres (59ft) tall, making it a couple of metres shorter than Mr Gormley’s North East landmark, which is 20m high. The work, destined for the former Sutton Manor Colliery site in St Helens, will be visible to millions of motorists on its site overlooking the M62.

It is part of the UK’s biggest-ever public art commissioning scheme, celebrating the region’s industrial past and cultural transformation. It forms part of Channel 4’s Big Art series to be screened next year.

Yesterday Mr Plensa, who is based in Barcelona, was on the site off Jubits Lane, filming for the series.

Last night he was keeping details of the design close to his chest, but said he had worked on a number of ideas.

The scheme has a working title of Ex Terra Lucem, meaning “Out of the earth comes light”. The artist’s design brief says it must be visible at day and night.

He said: “The location is the tallest hill in this huge valley, with amazing 360 degree views around.

“St Helens is looking to the future, it is necessary to combine memory and the future. I have to create the context, the piece should embrace the place.”

Mr Plensa said the wind-swept sparse environment on the hill gave him a virtual blank canvass to work with.

He wants to create a plaza-like meeting place for the people of St Helens and also as a visitor attraction.

It is hoped a planning application for the scheme will be submitted by Christmas with construction early next year.