An artist whose sculpture depicting a Norfolk house sliding into the sea—which sparked anger from locals—hopes the extra attention will focus minds on the issue of climate change.
Hilary Jack’s Seaview is on display in the grounds of Salisbury Cathedral as part of its Our Earth exhibition. It consists of a striking 10-foot-high structure featuring a clifftop home toppling into the sea as rising sea levels and coastal erosion eat away at the Norfolk coastline.
Jack says that during the ten-day construction phase she received positive feedback from visitors and residents including in-depth conversations about art and global warming. But the work now seems to have sparked the ire of two locals who wrote to the Salisbury Journal in fury they had not been consulted. One of them, William Cousins, wrote: “Us residents have had no say in the matter and instead have to view this timber pile daily to the detriment of the cathedral facade.
“If the objective is to draw attention to the sad situation along the coastline then a better solution would be to erect some large colour photographic posters with householders’ comments showing the crumbling cliffs and houses in danger of collapsing into the sea. May this monstrous debacle be removed as soon as possible.”
Jack was not phased by the criticism. She tells The Art Newspaper: “As an artist it’s great to have people talking about your work and engaging with it on different levels. I hope the piece will continue to spark vibrant conversations about contemporary art and the climate catastrophe we face unless we take urgent action. I hope my work will inspire people to campaign for the change that is urgently needed to avoid climate breakdown.”
Last year, the climate change charity One Home used data from the Environment Agency to identify 2,218 properties at risk from coastal erosion around the UK. These endangered coastal properties, worth a combined £584m, could be lost to the sea by 2100.
Jack had been researching the issue of coastal erosion when she was commissioned to produce work for the Our Earth exhibition. She says: “As a result of the high water table, Salisbury Cathedral was built on unstable ground with shallow foundations only 1.2 metres deep and the nearby Harnham Water Meadows act as a flood defence for the city. The past two years have seen record breaking levels of flooding and coastal erosion.”
She adds: “It seems some residents are more concerned about photo opportunities than the greatest threat to our earth.”