New ‘looping boat’ sculpture to be created on the Sheffield and Tinsley Canal

Sheffield City Council’s planning officers have accepted the proposal – commissioned by Sheffield City Council on behalf of the Tinsley Art Project – to install a new “looping boat” sculpture on the canal.

The sculpture, described as being a “playful visitor attraction”, will be created by the studio of the famous artist Alex Chinneck.

A document said: “Closely replicating the scale and style of a traditional canal boat, the body of this sculptural boat behaves in an extraordinary way, performing a six-metre-high, gravity-defying, aerial loop-the-loop.

“The looping boat sits on the water – apparently floating – within a canal pound that forms part of the Tinsley Flight.

“Painted in traditional colours, the sculptural canal boat adds colour, charm and magnetism to the historic setting of the canal, which recently celebrated its bicentenary.”

The sculpture will be fabricated from mild steel (hull and lower section of loop) and aluminium (upper section of loop), with a high specification marine paint and thick, polycarbonate glazing set within brass portholes to ensure its longevity, structural strength and believability.

The proposed location of the sculpture is on the Sheffield and Tinsley Canal, in north-east Sheffield in the pound between locks 4 and 5 of the Tinsley Flight, close to Tinsley Marina.

The canal lies between the A6102 (Shepcote Lane) to the east and a system of tram and railway lines to the west, including a footbridge that provides access to Carbrook Supertram stop, with the Sheffield Road beyond.

The document added the aim of the Tinsley Art Project was to create a public artwork that benefits and strengthens the identity of Tinsley following the demolition of the Tinsley Towers which previously dominated the landscape.