Loopy canal boat sculpture planned for waterway

The sculpture would be created from rolled steel in a nod to the region's heritage

In a twist of creativity, plans have been unveiled for a floating loop-the-loop-shaped canal boat sculpture.

Designed by artist Alex Chinneck the artwork is being proposed for installation on the Sheffield and Tinsley Canal, near Tinsley Marina.

Chinneck, who has already turned heads in the area with a twisted postbox sculpture and upside down car, said he wanted to create another "magical artwork" for the region.

If approved the sculpture will be funded by Meadowhall owners British Land and energy company E.ON, which operates the Blackburn Meadows Biomass Power Plant.

Alex Chinneck pictured in 2015 with his art installation "Pick yourself up and pull yourself together"

The idea has been given the backing of community group the Tinsley Forum, with spokesman Graham Whitfield calling it "the right design, for the right place".

“It will be fantastic for the area to have an unusual and playful addition, which is something that will inspire young and old to have an interest in art, health and the local waterways, whilst transforming an area of Sheffield where there is a lack of public art," he said.

Chinneck's twisted postbox sculpture appeared outside Tinsley Meadows Primary Academy in 2019

Sheffield City Council said: "Centred on the 200-year-old waterway, the public artwork references the history of Tinsley using signwriting and will be painted in traditional, canal boat colours.

"It will serve as a free, year-round, outdoor visitor attraction for the area, and aims to bring a new generation of visitors to contribute to the ongoing story of the canal."

The four-mile (6.5km) stretch of waterway opened in 1819, designed to carry boats between the River Don and a canal basin in central Sheffield.

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