Seafarers Memorial: 'This is very much a team effort'
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Sculptor Alan Beattie Herriot declared that his newly unveiled Seafarers Memorial in Wick is among his most satisfying works.
Mr Herriot, one of Scotland’s leading figurative sculptors, was selected from a short list of five artists and his design was revealed at a public meeting in the town last June.
His striking bronze figure at the Braehead, overlooking Wick Bay, commemorates all seafarers lost at sea from or in the WK registration area.
Before it was officially unveiled on Saturday, Mr Herriot told invited guests and members of the public: "To have your work so readily accepted by a community is all that any artist can hope for.
"Symbolically, the statue represents the sea itself – a sea which gives with one hand and takes away with the other. The right hand holds a haddock, whilst the left hand gestures below to the figures representing lives lost at sea.
"Sadly, these tragic events are stark reminders of the unpredictability that the sea poses."
Mr Herriot said that Willie Watt and John Bogle, chairman and secretary respectively of the Seafarers Memorial Group, had been "a joy to work with".
"As the sculptor I tend to get the lion's share of the credit for projects that I'm involved in," he said. "But memorials like this one can only become a reality by employing the skills of a number of people. In other words, this memorial is very much a team effort."
He was keen to give credit to the team at Powderhall Bronze foundry in Edinburgh.
Mr Herriot added: "As an artist, this sculpture rates as one of my most satisfying and I hope that it will stand here against the elements in remembrance of all those who have lost their lives to the sea."
Mr Herriot's studio is south of Edinburgh, near Leadburn. His other works include Aberdeen's Robert the Bruce sculpture, the fishermen's memorial in Pittenweem and a statue of a Black Watch soldier that was unveiled near Ypres to mark the centenary of World War I.
Speaking prior to Saturday's event, Mr Herriot explained: “This started when I did the Pittenweem fishermen's memorial and my name was mentioned through a chap called Ronnie Hughes who was on the committee at Pittenweem. Ronnie had mentioned it to Willie and they got in touch and asked me if I would like to look at the project.
"I thought, 'this could be terrific'. It's a spectacular location overlooking the harbour.
“So I came up with the idea of the single figure representing the sea."
