Floating Head sculpture returns to the Clyde after 33 years

floating headColin Hattersley

A 27-tonne sculpture has been floated up the Clyde and put back on display 33 years after it was created for the Glasgow Garden Exhibition.

The Floating Head was the work of artist Richard Groom and was made with the help of out-of-work shipbuilders.

The 7m-long concrete and steel artwork had been kept - largely forgotten - at Rothesay Dock East on the north banks of the Clyde for several years.

It was tracked down following the artist's death in 2019.

floating headcolin hattersley

It has been partially restored in a project led by Sculpture Placement Group (SPG).

The sculpture will be moored in the Canting Basin, beside the Glasgow Science Centre, until 6 October.

It will form a centrepiece of Glasgow Doors Open Day, after which it is hoped someone will come forward to give it a long-term home.

floating headcolin hattersley

Artist Richard Groom's brother Andy "on board" the floating head

Floating Head facts:

  • The head is 7m long, 4.3m high and 3.25m wide

  • It weighs around 27 tonnes

  • It has a steel and mesh armature covered with a ferro concrete render, based on a yacht hull design

  • The concrete is cast in two halves and joined from chin to ear

  • There are two mooring/towing points, one forward and one aft

  • There is a hatch on top for entry

  • It has no method of propulsion

  • Curiously, there is a toilet inside

Michelle Emery-Barker, SPG co-director, said: "People have very fond memories of the garden festival, and a huge attachment to Glasgow's heritage as a world centre of shipbuilding, so we're really pleased to have the sculpture floating on the Clyde once again.

"It's an astonishing story - an artwork that was nearly destroyed being rediscovered after decades, restored by the boatbuilders of today, and then towed back up the river and proudly put back on public display.

"We think it will really resonate with people, and hopefully be quite an attraction for Doors Open Day."

floating headcolin hattersley

Artist Richard Groom's brother Andy said his family had been touched by how many people had commented on his work - especially the floating head.

He said: "It became apparent very quickly we had to find it, fix it, float it.

"We tracked down and met Ian Henderson, the owner of the head, who has allowed us the opportunity to display the head again for the public to see.

"We're really grateful to all of them, and everyone else, who has made it possible for us to have the sculpture restored and returned to the heart of Glasgow."

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