The seaside town of Ventnor, on the south coast of the Isle of Wight has hopes of soon becoming the home of a piece of Public Artwork known as a Time and Tide Bell.
Venture South have submitted a planning application for the installation of the Public Artwork, joining 15 others across the nation.
Rich in harmonics
The project is the brainchild of artist Marcus Vergette, who set about designing a project to create a shape that would be rich in harmonics. The Time and Tide Bell is cast from marine bronze and “built to last in the extreme conditions found around our native shores”.
It’s designed to gently ring at high tide. The sound is not disruptive, but is tuned to blend with the sound of breaking waves, in turn also raising awareness of the rise in sea levels through global warming in the process.
The location for the Ventnor Time and Tide Bell will be at the eastern end of the bay, in the shadow of the pumping station (known locally as the ‘Poo Palace’).
The application explains,
The Bell will be anchored within the shingle beach with screw or ‘helical piles’ which, like a large corkscrew, will be driven deeply into the shingle to provide a secure footing and will be mounted on a frame to ensure that the clapper can swing free and react with the tides as they ebb and flow through the seasons.
Part of a national scheme
There are eight other Time and Tide Bells already installed, including in Appledore Devon, Lewis, Gwynedd, Trinity Bay Wharf (London), Anglesey, Morecambe Bay and Mablethorpe, Lincolnshire.
The Bell is part of a wider ranging Sculpture and Public Arts programme for the Isle of Wight, sponsored by Sculpture South and will be gifted to Ventnor Town Council (as the new legal owners), funded by the National Lottery Community Fund.
Although the Bell is designed to be a lasting piece of public art, it is relatively small, in comparison to its surroundings, and could be moved or removed at any future date if required.
See the plans
Residents can view the plans on the council’s planning portal. The public consultation closes on 4th February 2022.
Image: ianlivesey under CC BY 2.0
