North East Statues

Image courtesy of The Northern School of Art

Designed originally by Steven Wilkie, ‘Boy and Bicycle’ is a sculpture commissioned by Hartlepool Council and brought to life by sculptor Bob Hollywood.

In 2015 an online campaign was launched to have a statue honouring renowned film maker, Sir Ridley Scott placed in Hartlepool. Scott has a strong association with the town, and the statue proposed was to “be a massive, to-scale, scary-as-hell statue of the Alien from Aliens in the centre of our town” to bring in tourists and revellers. A personal favourite from the sales pitch is, “People would come for nights out in Hartlepool purely to get a picture of them and their friends getting chased by the Alien whilst eating Parmos.”

Unfortunately the Xenomorph didn’t go ahead but a statue was created to commemorate Ridley Scott and his late brother Tony. Ridley’s 1962 debut film, Boy and Bicycle provided a better prospect for a sculpture. Starring Tony and the town, the short film is an excellent example of the genre of ‘social realism’. As Tony cycles, Ridley’s camera work records everyday Hartlepool, and a Mark E Smith-esque dialogue captures a young man’s observations of the mundane. The brothers were alumni of The Northern School of Art and clearly sought inspiration from their adopted hometown.

Located by Hartlepool train station, the sculpture is a still from the film looking along Church Street. In an email Wilkie elaborates that when designing the piece he, “looked at using a false perspective layout, with abstract background buildings to convey the scene as a 3D steel structure.” With the aesthetic choice of using weathering steel, capturing the industrial heritage of Hartlepool depicted in the short film. Making the piece interactive was also considered so, “people could walk in to the ‘scene‘” but budget would not allow for this.

Steven’s sketches when fleshing out ideas for Boy and Bike

Once awarded the tender, “Bob [Hollywood] came up with the idea to take the false perspective further and have it as a flat-faced piece. We added the planter at the rear for stability and to add some seasonal colour. We also located a period style lamp column and added that in to extend the visual envelope of the piece. The current sculpture is the result of our development process and Bob’s fantastic skill as an artist fabricator.”

Prospective designs for Hartlepool Council by Steven Wilkie

When unveiling the statue in 2018, Bob told Hartlepool Mail:

“I was thrilled to be approached by this forward-thinking council to produce a sculpture representing two artists in a field which I truly admire and whose work has brought great honour to the town where they studied.

“The project allowed me to research the work of Sir Ridley and Tony and the relationship between them. It reminded me very much of the relationship I have with my own brother and allowed me to bring a very personal touch to the piece. Working with the Council has been a great experience as it came with some very clear and creative ideas which formed the foundation of the sculpture. It has been a pleasure to work with such a creative and open-minded team.”

Steven speaks very fondly of Bob bringing his idea to life stating, “the project would never have been so successful without Bob, his involvement was critical and it was his technical skill that made it what it was. It really was a fantastic experience working with such a creative artist.”

In 2018 Steven and Bob won the Hartlepool Civic Trust Award of Merit for Boy and Bicycle.

North East Statues had been hoping that the threatened Majestic Cinema, with its Art Deco Frieze’s had a starting role in the directors early work, sadly it doesn’t! However, the Empire Theatre has a brief cameo 3 minutes and 5 seconds in.