See Monster: What's the new art installation made from an old oil rig all about?

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See Monster: What's the new art installation made from an old oil rig all about?

What on earth do you do with an old oil rig?

Well, a team in Weston-super-mare have come up with a pretty special idea!

They are planning to turn a used oil platform from the North Sea into a public art work.

The See Monster, as it is called, was transported to the town's seaside on a barge as large as a football pitch.

The people behind the art project say they want it to get people talking about sustainability.

Image source, Ben Birchall
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The completed structure will include a 10-metre-high waterfall

The entire construction will be 35m tall - 15m taller than the Angel of the North and just 11m shy of Nelson's Column.

Newsubstance, one of the groups behind the installation, said the "world-first project" is an "ambitious feat of design".

Image source, Ben Birchall
Image caption,

The structure was transported on a barge the size of a football pitch

Organisers said it will feature four levels including a waterfall, a 6,000-piece installation of the monster's shimmering scales, an onboard green oasis and a seated amphitheatre and broadcast studio!

Mark Canniford from North Somerset Council, said: "The idea of bringing this back and showing people how this can be of benefit and the lessons that could be learned is fantastic."

Image source, Ben Birchall
Image caption,

The installation is being set up at the sea front where people will be able to watch the build

The 450-tonne platform was brought over from the Netherlands and arrived in Weston-super-Mare bay in the early hours of this morning.

Newsubstance founder, Patrick O'Mahony, said: "These giants are all over the world and no one has ever tried to do this before.... It's like a rehabilitation. It's spent its life taking from the earth and now it's time for it to give back."

The installation forms part of a project called Unboxed: Creativity in the UK, which features 10 separate projects that draw on science, technology, engineering and maths.