Beeston’s public art sculpture, entitled ‘Water Head’ but also called by other names, has now been relocated to its new home. It will be rededicated later this month 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 more suitability for 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. It was thought this location would be beneficial, as it could be viewed by passers-by and commuters on the NET tram, and the landscaping and steelwork in the immediate vicinity provide a softer, more appropriate setting 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 to provide information and context on the piece, and plants will be added 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 have been made for Saturday, 25 January, at 3:30 pm, when ‘Water Head’ will be rededicated – with a few words by artist and friend of Mason, Professor David Manley. Civic Trustee and long-time champion of the artwork, Tamar Feast, said, “We’re only not calling it an ‘unveiling’ because we simply can’t get a cover big enough! We really hope the new home for Water Head will be well-received – maybe even enough for people to stop calling it names.”
Everyone is very welcome to attend the event.
The sculpture will also feature in Beeston (Burns) Light Night III that evening (6–9 pm). It will be lit up, and poet Dave Wood (AKA Dr Rhyme) will read a poem about it at 7 pm.
