Storm Ciara has arrived and has brought a wave of destruction to Portsmouth and Southsea. Although most residents have done a successful job keeping safe, one has succumbed to nature’s assault on the city: a metal fish.
The Treadgold Fish Sculpture is a statue made by Pete Codling, using scrap metal from Treadgold Industrial Heritage Museum as a campaign for recycling plastic bottles. It was Crowdfunded by residents, whose money was matched by the Portsmouth City Council.
It was initially in the shape of Portsmouth’s iconic Star and Crescent emblem, but it's now missing a vital component. On Monday 10th, the statue’s team posted an appeal:
The statue is receiving funding from a number of sponsors for it to be transported around the city. It has already moved from Gunwharf Keys to Hotwalls Studios, Southsea Beach and then Southsea Common for the Victorious Festival. It sat proudly on the seafront next to the Naval War Memorial over Christmas, and has spent the first part of 2020 outside the Cathedral in Old Portsmouth.
Since its launch at the Seafood Festival in June 2019, it has collected over six thousand plastic bottles for recycling. It will soon be moved to Guildhall Square for the "What to do about Plastic" conference at the New Theatre Royal on 13th February.
After appealing to people in the area on Facebook (on a post with nearly a hundred shares), the sculptor commented:
Still no sign of it. I'll have to try make another one. Shame as was bespoke out of an old copper ballcock and brass pan. Can't replace like for like. 🙁
