by Tamar Feast

Beeston’s public art sculpture, entitled ‘Water Head’ but also called other names, has now been relocated to its new home and been rededicated in a small ceremony.

As part of works to improve Beeston Square, supported by UK Government Shared Prosperity Funding, the controversial sculpture needed to be moved to enable suitability for more outdoor events in the Square – more room was needed, and the artwork sat in the centre of the space.

Beeston Civic Society worked closely with Broxtowe Borough Council to find a nearby, Council-owned location for ‘Water Head’. It ran a public engagement survey for suggestions and votes on the best options. A new site was decided in September, and works to move the piece are now complete.

‘Water Head’ now sits beside Beeston Interchange, just outside the entrance to Arc Cinema Beeston ( pictured, above. ©Tamar Feast). It was thought this location would be beneficial, as it could be viewed by passers-by and commuters on buses and the NET tram, and the landscaping and steelwork in the immediate vicinity provide a softer, more appropriate siting for the piece.

Society volunteers Tamar Feast, Gary Smerdon-White, Jeanie Barton, and Karen Stainer turned out one chilly afternoon to clean years’ worth of dirt from the sculpture, revealing more of the marble detailing than was evident before. The Society has designed a plaque (pictured, below) which will provide information and context on the piece, and some plants will be planted around the base in time for the ceremony.

The sculpture was created by local artist and tutor, the late Professor Paul Mason, after a commission from the council in 1989.

It is described as, “An organic pillar of overlapping carved forms in Italian white marble” and is considered by many to represent the trunk of a tree. Very little was widely known about the piece, or its sculptor, until the recent campaign by the Society. It is hoped that the focal location; the plaque, and the planting will win-over local residents who had mixed or negative opinions about the sculpture.

Ceremony

Arrangements for a small public ceremony were  made for Saturday 25 January at 3:30pm, with a few words given by artist and friend of Mason, Professor David Manley (below, on left). Civic Trustee and long-time champion of the artwork, Tamar Feast (below, in centre), said, “We really hope the new home for Water Head will be well-received – maybe even enough for people to stop calling it names.”

Mervyn said the sculpture “creates a talking point among the people of Beeston, which means they engage with each other,

‘When they engage with each other they begin to develop a sense of place, and sense of belonging. That is vital – public art does that.”

In attendance were East Midlands artists who knew Paul, his son Joe Mason (above, on right) who travelled down from Leeds, Neil Walker (Head of Visual Art at Lakeside Arts), local councillors Teresa Cullen and Gabriella Bunn, Civic members John Patrick, Marion Wallwork, Professor Poliakoff; poet Dave Wood and members of the public. BBC and Notts TV camera crew were there to film the event (see Notts TV piece below).

The sculpture also featured in Beeston (Burns) Light Night III that evening (6 – 9pm). It was lit up (pictured, below ©Tamar Feast ), and poet Dave Wood (AKA Dr Rhyme) read his poem, ‘Resting’ written especially for the occassion.