Couple

Newbiggin-by-the-Sea, historically a fishing village and then a seaside destination for holiday makers, had over the years begin to see a decline in its fortunes. The town has roots back to the 12th century with fishing being its main industry, coal mining came later in the early 20th century, but as the fishing industry waned and then the colliery closed in 1967, times became harder and the town began to decline. The once popular beach, it was visited by thousands during its Victorian heyday, was also being seriously eroded by time and tide. By the start of the 21st century the town was in great need of a new identity and source of pride.

Around 2007 the Government provided £10 million of funding to carry out a coastal regeneration project that would see the installation of a new breakwater, the recreation of the beach and a series of land-based interventions to regenerate the town and promenade. At the centre of this scheme was a bold proposal to create the UK's first permanent offshore sculpture. The artist chosen for this was Sean Henry. Henry's style is characterised by a blend of “formal realism and subtle psychological tension”. His sculptures typically depict anonymous, everyday people and while often not life sized, they have a realistic quality.

While the creation of a sculpture of such monumental scale is a challenge in itself, creating something that they can be positioned on is an equally daunting prospect. The location of the breakwater was chosen and the engineering challenge of creating a 7.5m high plinth to stand the sculpture on was set in motion. The breakwater itself is made up of thousands of huge, 10 tonne, concrete “coreloc” units, which were lifted into place by a crane barge. The blocks would then naturally lock into eachother creating a strong, 200m long structure. Once the breakwater and plinth were constructed, it was then only a matter of getting the two 5m high figures in place, 300m offshore. This was again done by the crane barge and was watched by hundreds of locals on the shore.

Couple is fabricated from bronze and steel and the figures were modelled on real people and the clothes they were wearing on the day Sean Henry photographed them for reference. Henry has always kept their identity a secret as he felt that they should remain anonymous so people could make up their own stories about them. The scale of the figures means they take on a human scale out on the breakwater, looking relatively small in comparison to the power and size of the North Sea. Their pose is not heroic or dramatic, but natural and unassuming, illustrating a quiet, unsung bond between two people.

As with all new pieces of public art it proved controversial, some loved it some hated it, mainly the critics it should be said. Some of the reviews were less than complimentary, examples being "kitsch", "sentimental" and "visually obnoxious” while one prominent critic said it was “the stupidest sculpture of the past 20 years”! I was in the love category, partly as I was working on the project and got to see it throughout the whole process and then every time I visited site to check on the rest of the works.

As mentioned above, Couple stands 300m offshore so you can't really get much of a close-up view, and that is where my involvement really starts. The company I work for was in the process of designing a new pocket park at Vernon Place on the Promenade and in discussion with Sean Henry we came up with the idea to place the maquette (a smaller version of the sculpture created to see how it will look) as the centrepiece of the park. So now you can see and touch Couple, or Land Couple as they are known, and get to see the detail while they look out at their giant counterparts, who in turn look out to sea.

Couple has helped to revitalise Newbiggin-by-the-Sea and is regularly depicted on postcards, photographs and promotional items for the town, making it a hugely recognisable landmark. While initially criticised, the fact it wasn't a high-concept piece of art, but a more relatable, accessible and human representation of a shared experience allowed it to enter people's affections more readily. Indeed, during the strange and worrying period of Covid, Land Couple even wore their masks, showing they were still one of us, despite their fame!