Description:
Three carved Portland stone shell forms incorporating flat portions to serve as seating.

The forms are based on a Scallop (height 1300mm), a Nautilus (length 1350mm) and Whelk (length 1600mm). They are fixed as a group directly onto the paving in the pedestrianised street.

Commission Title:
Shell Seats

Sculptor:
Philip Bews

Production Period:
January - April 1997

Site:
Birley Street, Blackpool, England

Commissioned By:
Blackpool Borough Council, funded through Special Regeneration Budget

Production Method:
Working from scale drawings and plaster maquettes, the three forms were formed from selected quarried blocks at the stoneworks on Portland, Dorset.

Initially diamond tipped circular stone saws up to 3m diameter were used to remove large waste portions from the blocks. Philip Bews then roughed out each form using an angle grinder and heavy pitching chisel with further refinement of form and texture with tungsten carbide tipped chisels and wooden mallets.