Our Angel - have your say (From St Helens Star)

Our Angel - have your say

8:58am Thursday 26th July 2007

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ST HELENS will soon have its own iconic landmark to rival The Angel of the North.

A world famous artist has accepted the challenge to design a £700,000 artwork in Sutton Manor as part of Channel 4's Big Art Project.

Barcelona-born Jaume Plensa has exhibited all over the world and completed major commissions in Canada, Israel, Japan, France, Germany, and the United States.

His most famous work is the iconic Crown Fountain in the centre of Chicago.

Jaume's public artworks in the UK include a laser beam light sculpture at the Baltic Arts Centre in Gateshead and, most recently, a sculpted and illuminated glass dome for the BBC's Broadcasting House.

Channel 4's Big Art Project involves the creation of seven new landmark public art works across the UK. Progress is being filmed by Carbon Media as part of a major Channel 4 series to be broadcast in 2008.

The Sutton Manor site boasts a rich heritage as a former colliery and visible location beside the busy M62 motorway midway between Manchester and Liverpool.

Working title for the project is our old Latin motto, Ex Terra Lucem (out of the earth comes light) and the brief is for a forward-looking artwork that will not only put St Helens on the map and come to symbolise the massive transformation the borough has witnessed in recent years, but also to become a new regional icon for the North West.

Jaume Plensa commented: "My work is first and foremost about celebrating life and the human experience of standing in between past and present, present and future, knowledge and ignorance. I fell in love with this site in St Helens as soon as I saw it. The spectacular setting, proud heritage, vision for the future, and the warmth, humour and passion of the former miners I have met are all truly inspirational. To have been invited to capture the essence, hopes, and aspirations of a whole community on this scale is a great honour but also an awesome responsibility."

St Helens Council leader, Brian Spencer, said: "As council leader and someone who worked down Sutton Manor Colliery myself, I am delighted that an artist of the calibre and international standing of Jaume Plensa has accepted our commission."

Jaume Plensa will develop concepts over the summer. The designs will be finalised in autumn and construction will begin when planning permission is granted. The process will also feature a huge local community involvement programme intended to form the basis of a significant Big Art Project legacy initiative.

• Funding totalling more than £700,000 has been raised from The St.Helens Local Enterprise Growth Initiative, Forestry Commission, North West Coalfield Communities Regeneration Programme, and the Arts Council.

What do you think about this project. Post your comments below.

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