WILD EYE: Roman Mosaic c.2025 by Jeremy Deller, part of a new Seawatching Station
“With its swooping whale, snapping seal and mischievous god, the artist’s tricksy new work, made with Coralie Turpin, is just one of the fun-filled additions to Scarborough’s Wild Eye coastal art trail” ★★★★ Hannah Clugston, The Guardian
Roman-style mosaic unveiled at sea watching spot – BBC News
The sixth and final work of the Wild Eye series is a new Seawatching Station featuring a permanent artwork commission by Turner Prize-winning artist Jeremy Deller.
Deller’s new artwork Roman Mosaic c. 2025 – created in collaboration with sculptor and mosaic artist Coralie Turpin – is a fragmentary, large-scale Roman-style floor mosaic inspired by Scarborough’s sea life and its Roman past.
The artwork forms part of the new Seawatching Station on Marine Drive, one of the best places on the English coast to see dolphins and porpoises with more than 400 sightings in the last year. Visitors can enjoy free seawatching telescopes and comprehensive wildlife information providing insight into the incredible marine life viewable from the area.
Roman Mosaic c. 2025 has been developed in consultation with local scientists, conservationists, archaeologists and community groups and builds on Jeremy Deller’s long-standing fascination with cultural history.
Watch: The making of Roman Mosaic c. 2025, part of a new Seawatching Station
Listen: Social Broadcasts podcast on the making of the commission
This podcast follows the making of Roman Mosaic c. 2025 and the new Seawatching Station. Hear the voices of artist Jeremy Deller, mosaic artist and sculptor Coralie Turpin, and local wildlife experts including Stuart Baines, and schoolchildren, exploring how art and nature come together on Scarborough’s Marine Drive.
Audio production and sound design by Lucia Scazzocchio from Social Broadcasts.
Art is a way of staying in love with the world. It is also a form of magic or a cover version of reality. Here in Scarborough, we propose a new ancient work to be created about the sea and the creatures within it which also hints at the possibility of the past being still present, just beneath our feet and perhaps inclines us to think about what traces we will leave behind on the world.
Jeremy Deller
Jeremy Deller on BBC Radio 4 Front Row
Listen to Jeremy Deller speak about his new Wild Eye commission on BBC Radio 4’s Front Row (interview from 15 mins).
Jeremy Deller talk: Art is Magic
Watch Jeremy Deller talk about his past work and his proposal for a new mosaic art work for Scarborough (from 32.30 mins in).
Providing inspiring ways for people to experience and have a deeper connection with nature is a surefire way to build better protection and care – this beautiful sea watching hub will be a wonderful way for people to enjoy a coastal view and look out for Yorkshire’s marine wildlife.
Rachael Bice, Chief Executive Officer at Yorkshire Wildlife Trust
The seawatching station and artwork will connect with existing Wild Eye sites at Whitby Harbour and Scarborough Castle, which feature sculptural works by artists Juneau Projects and Ryan Gander respectively, in addition to linking with two other new sites: Paul Morrison’s sculpture now installed at Scarborough Harbour and Emma Smith’s community co-produced sculptural works on the Cinder Track in Scarborough, due in spring 2025. Along with Shezad Dawood’s Augmented Reality work, in collaboration with writer Daisy Hildyard, Marine Drive will complete the series of exciting, thought provoking artworks that connect people to the natural world.
Community Involvement:
Jeremy Deller was selected in consultation with Wild Eye’s local advisory group. During May 2024 there were free workshops with local primary school students in conjunction with Big Ideas by the Sea Festival and The Big Dig. Year 6 children from Friarage Primary School visited the Roman remains at the castle to look out for dolphins and porpoises from the headland. Under the expert guidance of Yorkshire-based artist Coralie Turpin and Scarborough-based artist Gaby Naptali, the children created stunning marine mosaics using a vibrant mix of glass and stone tiles that perfectly capture the beauty of local marine life, to be gifted to their school. Jeremy Deller joined the children to see their creativity in action and they went on to explore Scarborough’s past in the archaeological Big Dig.
Further free mosaic workshops are planned as part of a seawatching day in August as part of National Marine Week and charity organisation, Wetwheels Yorkshire, will also be using their accessible boat to take young disabled people from a local school on several marine wildlife viewing trips.
Community events linked to the project (2024):
- Collaboration with Big Ideas by the Sea Festival in May – Free mosaic workshops for school groups alongside The Big Dig
- Public talk by Jeremy Deller in Scarborough on 22 May at St Mary’s Church, Scarborough as part of Big Ideas by the Sea Festival.
- Scarborough Castle Wild Eye free residents open days: 26 May, 16 June, 22 September 2024: Seawatching activities with SeaWatch Foundation. The May open day also featured creative workshops linked to the mosaic and Roman Signal Station.
- Seawatching event at the Marine Drive site during Sea Watch’s National Dolphin and Whale Watch week (27 July to 11 August) on Sunday 4 August.
- Charity organisation, Wetwheels Yorkshire, will also be using their accessible boat to take young disabled people from a local school on several marine wildlife viewing trips.
Download the full press release here
Download the FAQs about this project
Wild Eye
Wild Eye is delivered in partnership with Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, a regional environmental charity, Invisible Dust, a UK-based art-science organisation and North Yorkshire Council. Wild Eye is funded by the Towns Fund drawn from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government administered through North Yorkshire Council and this funding is specifically assigned to the development of nature and culture tourism in Scarborough.
