Love Barrow Families unveils sculptures for Tall Ships event

Love Barrow Families commissioned the artistic sculptures which were created and designed by Barrow artist Tom Mortlock Jackson.

The art trail includes two other sculptures – a starfish and a crab – which were created and made with the communities at Love Barrow Families.

All the sculptures were made using recyclable fabrics and materials donated by the community and local businesses.

Artist Tom began working on the project from his studio in Pennington in June, dedicating 300 hours to the incredible sculptures.

Tom, who graduated in Fine Art from Nottingham Trent University last year, proposed the project to Love Barrow Families in January with the aim of showcasing the finished sculptures at the Barrow Sea Festival this weekend.

An ‘eco-artist’ and sculptor, Tom’s work is mainly based around climate-change and involves the use of recyclable materials.

The crab and starfish sculptures were made from wood and wire structures which were then built upon using found waste and upcycled fabrics.

The 12-foot tall mermaid is made up of recyclable materials (Image: Submitted)

The seahorse was made of donated scrap from bike shops in Barrow and Ulverston and the mermaid consisted of upcycled scrap metal and half of a tonne of horseshoes to replicate the scales.

“I spent hours of my life collecting materials,” Tom said.

“I’ve worked with metalwork before but nothing to this scale. It was quite an ambitious project with the timescale and budget, but I put everything into it.”

And it was important for Tom’s artwork to be showcased in the local community.

“There’s not really been anything like this in Barrow,” Tom said.

“It’s been a dream of mine to have a sculpture trail, especially in Barrow, in collaboration with companies based in the community.

“From the making and collecting of materials to the transport – it’s been a real community effort.

“It’s a dream come true. It hasn’t sunk in yet.

“It’s incredibly rewarding to see the final result.

“I’ve gained a lot from this project – I wanted to make a mark and make something happen here in Barrow and show the community what can be done with scrap.”

Chief executive of Love Barrow Families Alison Tooby described the statues as ‘absolutely amazing’.

The seahorse sculpture designed and created by Barrow artist Tom Mortlock Jackson (Image: Submitted)

“Local schools, nurseries and community groups have been doing fantastic artwork for the art trail which will finish with this incredible mermaid sculpture,” she said.

“There’s been a lot of planning and collaboration involved. We wanted to create something which linked in with the nautical theme for the Tall Ships event.”

“We’re going to keep the mermaid statute with plans to have an exhibition featuring it in the future. We want to tell the story behind how the sculpture came together.”

The sculptures and art trail will be open from 11am until 5.30pm today and tomorrow at the Buccleuch Dock in Barrow.