If you have ever heard of the story of All Colours Sam, aka Sam the Sandown Clown, you should recognise this sculpture that appeared on Sandown esplanade earlier today (Friday).
This imposing sculpture – inspired by the modern-day folklore story of a strange being that two young children encountered near Sandown Airport in May 1973 – has been created by David Jones, a Lecturer of Design at Goldsmiths University, London and his colleague, Natalia (both pictured below).
Gifted to Sandown
It has taken around eight-months to complete and this week they travelled to the Island to generously donate the sculpture to the Isle of Wight.
New home
Sam made an appearance on the seafront for a couple of hours before being whisked off to Sandown Airport, where he’ll be residing for the time being, situated in a special perspex box by the replica Black Arrow rocket, near the airport cafe.
It was very interesting listening to the comments of passersby, and incredibly, some already knew the story of Sam the Sandown Clown.
“All folklore traditions have to start somewhere”
We had a fascinating conversation (34 minutes) with David, covering wide-range of subjects including how he discovered the story of ‘Sam the Sandown Clown’ about a decade ago; why he decided to build the 8-foot sculpture; what modern folklore is about; other examples of folklore; how the sculpture was created; more detail about the 1973 encounter and much more.
David explained,
“At the heart of the research, is the account of the two young children. It could purely be the imagination of two children, but that being said, the fact that it got put into print, and it captivated a global audience and has such amazing links to Sandown – that within itself as a narrative is enough to celebrate.
“All folklore traditions across the British Isles, their origins are obscure, but hundreds of years later they’re still being spoken about. The traditions and celebrations have to start somewhere, so why couldn’t Sandown have a festival about All Colours Sam? Why couldn’t there be a procession to the siting? Why couldn’t it be taken down to the beach and cheered? There’s something that people within Sandown, the community should celebrate and start to work on some sort of festival or ceremony, just for the hell of it, just to bring the town together.”
Listen to the conversation
To listen to the conversation (34 mins) click on the play button below. You can pause, jump back 10 seconds or forward 30 seconds.
