Echoes of our industrial past

After a five-day voyage across the sea on a barge the size of a football pitch, SEE MONSTER arrived in Weston-super-Mare one windy morning in July as a crowd watched on with anticipation. 

In a tremendous demonstration of engineering power, the 450-tonne Monster was hoisted over the four-metre-high walls of the Tropicana and fixed onto new legs. From that moment its transformation began, with its full awakening set to begin this month. 

The real story, however, lies in its journey from idea to fruition.

This ambitious project, created and produced by NEWSUBSTANCE, comes alive in Weston-super-Mare as a colossal manifestation of all it has witnessed in its journey around the turbulent UK coastline. The reawakened Monster will be a platform, the biggest of its kind, to tell stories of reuse, renewables and the Great British weather. 

Inherited structures as inspiration

SEE MONSTER has rehabilitated and reimagined a decommissioned offshore platform, transforming the retired industrial structure into a large-scale public art installation that will be open for two months, presenting what the Monster could become as a pioneer for a greener future. 

The concept of inherited structures is both exciting and inspiring. I love the idea that we inherit these beasts of the sea. They are bastions of our industrial past, they are part of the story of how we are where we are today, both good and bad.  

They have spent their lives serving one master, having one role, being seen in one dimension.  But when viewed through the lens of arts and culture, new opportunities and challenges emerge.

We were inspired by the idea of re-use and not building new. It is an opportunity to celebrate our past and reposition these structures for a new life. Rehabilitating structures like this for new life comes with unparalleled challenges, but it also brings a new way of thinking. 

The opportunity to wonder ‘what if…’?

The beauty and real power of UNBOXED, of which SEE MONSTER is just one of ten commissions, is that it provides a platform for major, often unlikely experiments in creativity. It’s given creatives the opportunity to think “what if…”. 

For Patrick O’Mahony, the Creative Director and Founder of NEWSUBSTANCE, that question was “What if you took a decommissioned rig out of the North Sea and used it as a platform to tell stories?”

Ever since Dose of Society (DoS) visited in late 2020, we knew Weston was where we wanted to be. Over the past year we’ve worked with the council, the schools’ network and community-led initiatives to get people involved in the project. We have been committed from the beginning to making sure our Monster is part of the community and that there is ownership and authorship over what it will be and what it means to this community.   

Located in the town’s 1930s lido – the Tropicana – the arrival of SEE MONSTER aims to align with the emerging cultural landscape of the town. 

With landscapes woven throughout the structure that work to amplify SEE MONSTER’s message, the project poses a question of how pre-existing ideas can be challenged and changed through STEAM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths). 

Cross-sector collaboration

The schools’ programme includes lesson packs for teachers as well as digital content for careers in STEAM subjects and beyond including the Humanities. It also aims to promote softer skills around confidence, communication and writing – all of which benefit students and their future employers. 

In partnership with DoS and Culture Weston, we have developed Think Tanks that have produced over 50 events and deep engagement across the community. The Think Tanks were created for the people of Weston to create moments around the core themes of SEE MONSTER. We have been overwhelmed by the response and the success of the project. 

SEE MONSTER demonstrates the power that can be harnessed with cross-sector collaboration across STEAM subjects. Such opportunities bring arts and culture into the spotlight and enable global change by encouraging creative collaboration across completely different sectors. I don't think it would have been possible under any other circumstances; it has allowed for a new conversation to begin and for what was previously impossible to become possible. 

In terms of future impact, I hope we have made a small but positive difference. The whole point of SEE MONSTER is to start a conversation about re-use and renewable futures.  What we have created is a blueprint for change, and a route forward for other industrial structures to be used for a greater good.  

We hope to provide organisations around the world with the confidence to create their own monsters and find new platforms for their own stories. For now, you’re invited to join us in Weston-super-Mare. It’ll be something very special.

Niccy Hallifax is Project Director of SEE MONSTER

unboxed2022.uk | www.seamonster.co.uk
 @Unboxed2022 | @seemonsteruk
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This article, sponsored and contributed by UNBOXED, is part of a series of articles to showcase the value of creativity and what creativity means.