Decommissioned oil rig set to become seafront art exhibition
AGIANT decommissioned oil rig will be installed on Weston-super-Mare seafront next summer as part of a UK-wide art festival.
The Unboxed: Creativity in the UK festival is a collection of installations and events in a £120 million Government-backed project that was initially dubbed the Festival of Brexit.
One of the flashiest of the ten projects selected from some 300 ideas is See Monster, which will be built at the Tropicana in the North Somerset resort.
It will see a disused offshore oil platform transformed into an installation celebrating renewable energy.
The biggest offshore oil rigs can rise hundreds of feet above sea level – although the majority of the structures are underwater.
A spokesperson for North Somerset Council yesterday said that the height of the proposed installation at the Tropicana had yet to be finalised. Although a temporary structure, it will nevertheless need to gain planning permission before it can be built.
Leeds-based creative studio NewSubstance is masterminding the project. The structure will be created using a repurposed North Sea offshore platform and feature planted gardens and a waterfall.
The art installation, which is expected to attract more than 200,000 visitors a year, will be the largest outdoor piece of art ever seen in the town.
See Monster is part of Unboxed: Creativity in the UK – a free, national collection of ten large-scale, public art engagement projects that will showcase the UK’s creativity and innovation to the world throughout 2022.
It will use its unique seafront location to harness the power of the elements to provide renewable energy for the structure.
Along with the waterfalls and gardens it will feature places to meet, and be a fun and educational place which will focus on weather, climate change and green technologies.
It will also have a dedicated outreach team with a science, technology, engineering, arts and maths (STEAM) focus.
The installation will be at the Tropicana for two months and entry for visitors will be free – with local residents getting a first look.
The build will start in spring 2022 and will take approximately two months.
Ticket information announced later this year.
Leader of North Somerset Council Cllr Don Davies said: “It’s an honour to be chosen as one of the ten locations for Unboxed and we see great opportunities for residents, businesses and visitors during the eight weeks See Monster will be with us.
“The renewable technologies that will be showcased at See Monster support our ambitions for North Somerset to be net carbon neutral by 2030 and we are delighted to support and host this installation.”
The arrival of See Monster follows on from the hugely successful Dismaland Bemusement Park art installation by graffiti artist Banksy in the summer of 2015.
The exhibition attracted more than 150,000 visitors over its five-week run and brought an economic boost of an estimated £20 million to the local economy. A-list stars including
will
be actor Brad Pitt and comedian Russell Brand were among those to make a visit.
One of the other Unboxed projects coming to the West next summer is StoryTrails – an immersive story-telling experience.
StoryTrails will bring untold stories from the past to life through the magic of the 3D internet using augmented and virtual reality to reanimate public spaces in towns and cities across the UK creating a free, entertaining and playful familyfriendly experience.
It will visit only 15 locations across the UK, including Bristol in August 2022.
Bristol-based television historian Professor David Olusoga is executive producer of the project.
He said: “I am thrilled to be working with StoryFutures to help bring about change in the diversity of our creative industries.
“By enabling 50 diverse creative voices to create compelling stories that combine past, present and future through the magic of immersive technologies, we’ll be mapping a new path for creativity in this country.”