First Look at Spectacular Looping Canal Boat Artwork by Alex Chinneck

A major new public artwork for Sheffield by artist Alex Chinneck has been unveiled on the city’s historic canal.

The first artwork on water by Chinneck, pictured below, the sculpture celebrates Sheffield’s historic waterways and industrial heritage. It takes the form of a full-size canal boat, whose body behaves in an extraordinary way, performing a six metre-high, gravity-defying, loop-the-loop. 

An artist renowned for the ambition and scale of his public artworks, Chinneck has previously made multi-storey buildings bend, melt, hover and unzip. However, this has been his most challenging project by far.

Alex Chinneck said: “I’ve tried to create an uplifting and endearing landmark that belongs to this historic location while honouring the city’s industrial history by pushing steel to its material limit.  This project has been a massive chapter in my career. It concludes 8 years of creating sculptures for Tinsley in Sheffield and I’m proud to finish with the looping boat.

The looping boat has been conceived as a free cultural attraction, co-funded by E.ON, who committed to creating a public artwork as part of its redevelopment of the Blackburn Meadows site, and British Land, former co-owners of Meadowhall. The artwork is welcomed by Canal & River Trust, the charity that looks after the Sheffield & Tinsley Canal.

The sculpture is fabricated from 9 tonnes of helically-rolled steel and aluminium, painted in traditional canal boat colours. The looping boat bears the name ‘The Industry’, after the first vessel to navigate the Sheffield & Tinsley Canal when it opened in 1819, and it features the Tudor Rose (the assay mark of Sheffield).

Permanently located between locks 4 and 5 of the Sheffield & Tinsley Canal, near to Meadowhall Shopping Centre, the static artwork seemingly floats on the water. Positioned on the offside of the canal, away from the navigable channel, the artwork will not impact usual boat passage and cannot be entered or approached. Visitors can enjoy a 180-degree view of the artwork from the towpath, or from the water by passing boaters, canoeists and paddleboarders. 

The historic canal, looked after by the Canal & River Trust charity, has been used to transport sections of the artwork to site. Travelling two miles along the waterway from Rotherham to Tinsley, the loop of the sculpture is the tallest known structure to have been transported along the canal in the last 70 years, leaving only centimetres to spare between the artwork and bridges.

Sean McGinley, regional director, Yorkshire & North East at Canal & River Trust charity said: “It’s wonderful to see the canal being used as an outdoor gallery space to showcase contemporary art, while being used to transport the artwork to site, a nod to its heritage.

“With our nation’s canals waterways in urgent need of continued investment to ensure they are maintained for future generations to benefit from, this artwork will attract new visitors to Sheffield’s canal, enrich the experience for the existing waterway users and grow support to help us look after them.”

Councillor Martin Smith, Chair of the Economic Development and Skills Committee at Sheffield City Council, said: “The Board have been working to deliver a public artwork for Tinsley and for Sheffield, that celebrates the history of the area and the promotes the discovery and enjoyment of the water way.

“Sheffield’s new looping boat does just that. It is a fantastic achievement by everyone involved and a fitting celebration of Sheffield’s international reputation for industry, innovation and creativity.” 

Jess Dhariwal, plant manager at E.ON’s Blackburn Meadows renewable energy plant, said: “There is rightly a huge amount of local pride in Sheffield’s industrial heritage, and when we redeveloped our Tinsley site as a future-looking energy source for the city, we committed to funding this artwork to keep that alive and to introduce a new generation of people to one of its greatest legacies – the canal.”

Darren Pearce, Centre Director at Meadowhall, said: “We’ve been longstanding supporters of the community in Tinsley through various initiatives, and we’re extremely excited to see this amazing piece of art finally come to life. Not only is it iconic for the local area, it’s also a free year-round attraction, close to Meadowhall and other visitors destinations, that together make for a great day out in the city.”

The artwork was commissioned by the Tinsley Art Project Board which includes Sheffield City Council, Tinsley Forum, Canal & River Trust, and the project co-funders. It forms part of wider efforts to regenerate the Lower Don Valley.

Graham Whitfield of Tinsley Forum said “The promotion of active lifestyles is a key priority for the health of the local community and we hope this will encourage people to discover the fantastic local asset that is the canal, as well as to learn about the history of the area and experience this incredible artwork.”

Every class from Tinsley Meadows Primary Academy will be brought to see the new artwork and meet the artist. Alex Chinneck has been working in the Tinsley area of Sheffield for eight years and has created three artworks in Tinsley during that time, including a sculpture of a car hanging upside down, creating an illusion that was visited by more than 5,000 local residents over six days. In 2019, Alex returned to Tinsley with a new sculpture – a knotted post box, which was temporarily installed on a residential street outside Tinsley Meadows Primary Academy.

For more information about the artwork visit: www.canalrivertrust.org.uk/theloopingboat