Dream

The Story:

In 2005 Sean Durney, the Arts Officer for St.Helens Council, writes the application and nominates the former Sutton Manor colliery site for a new Channel 4 TV programme called 'The Big Art Project' where sites aim to inspire and create unique works of public art across the UK. The former pitmen have a strong connection with their old workplace in Sutton Manor and were keen for a form of memorial on the site. Former miner Gary Conley is asked to come on board to form a small focus group of ex Sutton Manor miners who will work with an artist to commission an artwork backed by the local authority.

In 2007 the former miners unanimously choose renowned Catalan artist Jaume Plensa to submit a proposal, of which he accepts. The former miners also come to a decision that now they do not want a literal mining monument but instead a structure that as well as referencing the past would be contemporary and forward-looking.

Dream takes the form of the head and neck a 9-year-old girl that has been elongated by a third. Her eyes are closed in quiet contemplation, dreaming not only about her future but also that of the former colliery site and St Helens.  The landmark  give hopes and aspirations for future generations and is a positive symbol for the area. It's white to replicate light and to contrast the darkness of the mine and coal that lies beneath.

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