 |
Cumbrian Blue(s) Maryport, 2003
The tile commission for North Harbour flood defence wall is a patterned narrative based on elements of the towns history.
A vaguely chronological sequence starts at Tongue Pier, and heads towards the town. Of course many may start a walk along the wall from the town end towards Tongue Pier, in which case the sequence noted here is reversed
Tiles depicting waves are based on images from an engraving showing a ship entering the harbour in a storm.
Patterned fish tiles refer to varieties fish traditionally landed in Maryport for hundreds (probably thousands) of years.
The Roman presence and influence on the area are recognised by a series of patterned tiles made up from images of objects (sculptures and details) sourced from the Senhouse Museum.
Throughout the mural, repeated details of old maps make patterns on a larger scale, referencing changed places; the location of old shipyards, railway lines and evidence of other activities and presences, which enabled the town to develop.
Other patterns are made up from images of side-launched ships, buttons referencing the old hornflower factory (which used to make buttons and other products from animal horn). The bull tile was created by using a map detail (trees), and a print from Logans (now closed) butchers shop paper carrier bag. It not only references the agricultural hinterland of the town and a local business, but also the old trade of importing cattle from Ireland.
Two tile patterns contain very domestic references, after all Maryport is a home to thousands of people; they are composed from fragments of wallpaper found in a local Georgian house.
Finally looking from South Quay, where the detailed patterns of each tile are on the whole too fine for easy contemplation, the arrangement of tiles in the wall, although constrained by structural and engineering considerations, does have logic. They are not randomly patterned as may appear at first sight, but have been deliberately placed using Morse code as the arbiter.
|
|
