Jewels of the sea

‘Jewels of the Sea’

The East Shore Village, Seaham, County Durham

2005 - 2007

The Sculptures

Over thirty cast iron sculptures have been created throughout the landscaped entrance to The East Shore Village by the artist Andrew Mckeown. These sculptures are inspired by microscopic single cell organisms called Diatoms. Diatoms are a type of plankton and they are considered the most important of all the plankton as they form the basis of almost all the food chains in the oceans. 

Diatoms remove carbon dioxide form the atmosphere and produce approximately forty per cent of the world’s oxygen. Individually they are invisible to the naked eye but in large concentrations they are seen as brown or golden brown patches in the ocean. There are thousands of different species of diatoms inhabiting nearly every body of water on this planet and the Jewels of the Sea sculptures highlight the importance of oceanic algae in the health of the Oceans and Planet Earth. Aesthetically the diatoms have been described as ‘Jewels of the Sea’ as the intricate structure and detail of their silica frustule or shell has been likened to decoratively ornate jewelry.

Using this theme of organic growth the ‘Jewels of the Sea’ sculptures aim to symbolize the start of new life at the ‘East Shore Village’, where once stood the ‘Vane Tempest’ coal mine. Focusing on the importance of the sea and the Coastal location of the new village the sculptures have been cast in iron and repeated across the site where they appear to be emerging from the limestone cliff top which is itself created from the remains of ancient aquatic organisms such as algae and plankton. 

The sculptures were commissioned for the entrance to the new village to enhance the physical environment and create a unique sense of place. They can be randomly encountered throughout the site where they give the East Shore Village a distinctive character and identity. There are eight different sculptural forms with numerous castings from each form installed within this large open landscaped site. The largest piece ‘Helisira’ standing three metres tall and the smallest ‘Diploneis’  being cast fifteen times and arranged in clusters of seven, five, two and one pieces (the dimensions of each piece are listed within the sculpture slide list).

Cast iron was chosen as the material in which to create the pieces because it relates to the industrial heritage of the site and its previous use as a colliery which had an integral iron foundry casting component parts to keep the colliery running. Cast iron also develops a rich natural brown rust surface which changes as it weather and it is extremely durable, long lasting and vandal resistant.

Andrew Mckeown design proposals were selected from a shortlist of artists and designs in October 2003 and the project developed over the following years through the stages of feasibility, detailed designs and costings, structural engineering, planning, pattern making, casting/fabrication until final installation in 2006 and 2007. 

The sculpture installation had to tie in with the landscaping of the entrance site which took approximately 16 months to install and the sculptures were installed in two phases to fit in with the landscaping project and to allow sufficient time for the fabrication of the pieces. A stone and cast iron marker introduces the sculptures at the pedestrian entrance to the project. 

The funding for the project was provided through the Yuill, Miller, Haslam Consortia of house builders. The project was managed by the artist and the Southern Green partnership of Gateshead.  

The artist worked with local schoolchildren from St. Mary Magdalene and Princes Road Primary Schools in Seaham to develop the ideas and concepts for the sculptures. Andrew conducted drawing and clay modeling workshops with a class of schoolchildren from each school who created interpretations of plankton, particularly diatoms which the artists introduced and described to the children. At the end of the workshops each child had designed, visualized and sculpted their own plankton sculpture.

An interpretation leaflet has been produced and is to be distributed to each of the 650 households and businesses on the site in April 2008 and further copies will be available through Easington Council community facilities and other outlets with Seaham and beyond to publicize and inform people about the project.

The physical works were complete when the final piece the stone interpretation marker was installed in October 2007.

The East Shore Village Project 

The East Shore Village is located in Seaham, County Durham. From the A19 follow the signs for the seafront and then head north towards Sunderland until you reach the Crows Nest Pub.

Among the priorities in the rejuvenation of Seaham through a programme of physical regeneration projects is the creation of opportunities for new housing on brownfield land and, more particularly, on reclaimed colliery sites. The East Shore Village Development is a major part of that programme and it marks a major step forward in housing regeneration in East Durham.

In 2000, One NorthEast completed the reclamation of 80 acres of former colliery land at Vane Tempest together with the creation of primary infrastructure and servicing, funded through the National Coalfields Programme.

A consortium of regional house builders, Haslam Homes, Miller Homes and Yuill Homes, together with commercial property partner Camtec have been developing the site (now known as East Shore Village) since 2003 and they have almost completed a programme to build 650 new homes for sale, 26 self build plots, a pub restaurant (The Crows Nest), small retail units (including a Sainsburys convenience store). The site also includes a new residential extra care facility (delivered by Durham County Council and Hanover Housing) which opened in May 2004.

One NorthEast and partners are working to improve leisure facilities in the locality and to construct a rail footbridge to better link East Shore Village with the wider townscape.  Planning permission was granted in early 2006 for a Sports & Community Centre at Vane Tempest that will feature grass and all-weather sports pitches, changing rooms, social and community facilities. Work is now underway to secure the necessary funding from a number of bodies including One NorthEast, English Partnerships and Sport England with works anticipated to start on site in 2007.