by Rebecca Hannant
A new sculpture has been installed on the seafront in Hornsea.
On Wednesday, December 20, the foundations were laid for the Hornsea Wave between Sands Lane and the Promenade.
The piece, created by Emma Stothard, depicts a fish and a wave, and was inspired by the town’s rich history and culture. The ceramic elements are also representative of a small piece created by Hornsea Pottery.
The sculpture, which was funded by local businesses and supported via a collaboration between the artist and Yorkshire Coast BID, was created using mild steel wire and stands at 2.5m tall. The galvanized elements give it a shiny appearance and will protect it from the harshness of the strong winds and salty sea spray.
The Hornsea Wave is part of a series of sculptures that aim to celebrate the natural and historic beauty of the Yorkshire coast, and it will also form part of the Route YC tourist attraction. A spokeswoman for Yorkshire Coast BID said the soft landscaping around the sculpture would be completed in the new year.
Emma Stothard was born in Hull and grew up in Kilnsea. After studying fine art at Southampton Solent University, she briefly moved to the Somerset Levels where she learned the process of growing, coppicing, bundling, and weaving willow.
She later returned to Yorkshire and took inspiration from works by Henry Moore and Elisabeth Frink in the grounds of what is now the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. She began making geese and small animals from woven willow before moving on to the large sculptures that can be seen along the East and North Yorkshire coastline.
