Look Up

A historic maritime city takes delivery of a ‘giant sea creature’ as it begins to celebrate a year of culture.

THE city of Hull begins to live its year of culture with a series of spectacular events including the installation of a monumental work by the artist Nayan Kulkarni. The multimedia artist took a 75 metre long, 28 tonnes rotor blade - the largest handmade object in the world that would normally be at the top of a wind turbine - to create an enormous piece of sculpture for the newly renovated Queen Victoria Square in the heart of Hull.

The sculpture called ‘Blade’ bisects the square, from Saville Street to Carr Lane, rising to a height of more than five metres at its tip, allowing double-decker buses to pass underneath. It stands in striking contrast to the familiar facades of the neoclassical Ferens Art Gallery, the Italianate Maritime Museum and Hull City Hall.

It is the first in a series of major public art commissions as part of Look Up, a yearlong programme for Hull 2017 that will see different artists creating temporary artworks designed to make people look at and experience the city in new ways. Nayan Kulkarni said Blade, which will remain in the square until March 18th, was a profound material gesture, a spectacle, an obstacle and an object of wonder.

Martin Green, CEO and director Hull 2017, described the work as a dramatic, yet graceful addition to Hull’s city centre. He added: ‘Despite its size, what is striking about the sculpture is its elegance. Putting this example of state of the art technology against the historic charms of Queen Victoria Square makes you look at this fine public space differently.