Dream (sculpture)

{{Short description|Sculpture by Jaume Plensa}} {{Distinguish|The Dream (sculpture)|The Dreamers (sculpture)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Sculpture | image = ''Dream''|200px | title = ''Dream'' | artist = Jaume Plensa | year = 2009 | type = Dolomite on cast concrete | city = St Helens | museum = Sutton Manor Colliery }}

'''''Dream''''' is a sculpture and a piece of public art by Jaume Plensa in Sutton, St Helens, Merseyside.<ref name=mirror>{{cite web|title=The Daily Mirror Website|publisher= The Mirror|url=http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/the-ticket/2009/04/art-st-helens-dream-sculpture.html|accessdate=21 July 2009}}</ref> Costing approximately £1.8m (equivalent to £{{format price|{{Inflation|index=UK|value=1800000|start_year=2009}}}} in {{Inflation-year|index=UK}}{{Inflation-fn|UK}}), it was funded through The Big Art Project in coordination with the Arts Council England, The Art Fund and Channel 4.<ref name="mirror" /><ref name="thedream">{{cite web |url=http://www.dreamsthelens.com/site.do;jsessionid=767CDE46DC0FFE026BF3F006EAC06129 |title=St. Helens ''Dream'' |publisher=St. Helens Council |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724142508/http://www.dreamsthelens.com/site.do%3Bjsessionid%3D767CDE46DC0FFE026BF3F006EAC06129 |archivedate=2011-07-24 }}</ref>

==Origin== In 2008 St Helens took part in Channel 4's "The Big Art Project" along with several other sites. The project culminated in the unveiling of ''Dream'', a {{Convert|66|ft||-high|adj=mid}} sculpture located on the old Sutton Manor Colliery site.<ref name=mirror/><ref name=thedream/>

St Helens retains strong cultural ties to the coal industry and has several monuments including the wrought iron gates of Sutton Manor Colliery,<ref name=bigartsutton>{{cite web|url=http://www.bigartsthelens.com/big-art-sthelens-sutton-manor/ |title=The Channel 4 Big Art Project In St.Helens |publisher=Channel 4 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090416094445/http://www.bigartsthelens.com/big-art-sthelens-sutton-manor |archivedate=2009-04-16 }}</ref> as well as the 1995 town centre installation by Thompson Dagnall known as "The Landings" (depicting individuals working a coal seam) and Arthur Fleischmann's Anderton Shearer monument (a piece of machinery first used at the Ravenhead Mine).

The council and local residents (including approximately 15 former miners from the colliery) were involved in the consultation and commission process through which ''Dream'' was selected.<ref name=mirror/> The plans involved a full landscaping of the surrounding area on land previously allowed to go wild after the closure of the pit.

==The sculpture== ''Dream'' consists of an elongated white structure {{convert|66|ft|m|0}} tall, weighing {{Convert|500|t|}}, which has been cast to resemble the head and neck of a young woman with her eyes closed in meditation. The structure is coated in sparkling white Spanish dolomite, as a contrast to the coal which used to be mined here. It cost nearly £1.9 million and it is hoped it will become as powerful a symbol in North West England as Antony Gormley's ''Angel of the North'' is in North East England.<ref>{{Cite journal | last = Sooke| first = Alastair| author-link = | date = 25 April 2009| title = The new face of the North West| edition = | volume = | series = Telegraph Review| publication-place = | place = | publisher = The Daily Telegraph| page = 16| id = | isbn = | doi = | oclc = | url = | accessdate = }}</ref>

Jaume Plensa himself stated "When I first came to the site I immediately thought something coming out of the earth was needed. I decided to do a head of a nine-year-old girl which is representing this idea of the future. It's unique."<ref name=mirror/>

The original design of the sculpture called for a skyward beam of light from the top of the head, and the sculpture's working title was ''Ex Terra Lucem'' ("From the ground, light"), a reference to St Helens' previous motto. Due to objections from the Highways Agency, the sculpture was not lit, but in 2010 a new planning application was submitted to St Helens Council for it to be floodlit.<ref name=SHStar>{{cite web|title=The St Helens Star Website|date= 28 October 2010|publisher= St Helens Star|url= http://www.sthelensstar.co.uk/news/8480393.Lighting_plans_for_St_Helens__Dream_artwork/|accessdate=28 October 2010}}</ref>

For this work Plensa received the 2009 Marsh Award for Excellence in Public Sculpture.<ref name="MCT">{{cite web |title=Marsh Award for Excellence in Public Sculpture |url=https://www.marshchristiantrust.org/award/marsh-award-for-excellence-in-public-sculpture/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402135402/https://www.marshchristiantrust.org/award/marsh-award-for-excellence-in-public-sculpture/ |url-status=usurped |archive-date=2 April 2019 |publisher=Marsh Christian Trust |accessdate=2 April 2019}}</ref>

==Construction== The ''Dream'' sculpture is built out of moulded and cast unique concrete shapes, 90 pieces in all contributing to over 14 tiers (54 individual elements for the head, each weighing {{Convert|9|t|}}). Dolomite was utilised as a concrete aggregate in order to provide the brilliant white finish. Additionally titanium dioxide was added to the mix in order to provide a self-cleaning mechanism. The construction required the construction of individual moulds for each piece and took a total of 60 days to cast.{{fact|date=September 2024}}

The foundations of the sculpture extend {{convert|125|feet|metres}} into the ground with 8 piles driven in to secure it.{{fact|date=September 2024}}

==Location== The sculpture is sited on an old spoil tip of Sutton Manor Colliery which closed in 1991 and it overlooks the M62 motorway. Prospective visitors may download audio guides and smartphone apps before visiting.<ref>{{cite web |title=Visiting ''Dream'' |publisher=Dream-St. Helens |url=http://www.dreamsthelens.com/visiting-dream/visitor-guides-downloads/|accessdate=4 March 2012}}</ref>

==See also== *Dreaming - A similar sculpture in Toronto *Echo - A similar sculpture in Seattle *Water's Soul - A similar sculpture in Jersey City, New Jersey

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *{{Commons-inline}} *[http://www.dreamsthelens.com/ ''Dream'', St. Helens] - Information about the sculpture

Category:Outdoor sculptures in England Category:Culture in Merseyside Category:2009 sculptures Category:Colossal statues in the United Kingdom Category:Buildings and structures in Merseyside Category:St Helens, Merseyside Category:Stone sculptures in the United Kingdom Category:Sculptures by Jaume Plensa