Placed on the top of
the former spoil heap of Sutton Manor Colliery the head of the
young girl can be seen for miles all around. The land is owned by
St Helens Council and managed by the Forestry Commission, and there
are plenty of pathways to explore.
There are three micro caches and a traditional cache in the
series and together they tell the story of the former coal mine at
Sutton Manor and the arrival of "Dream".
When you complete the series please photograph yourselves and
your party “dreaming” in front of "Dream".
The traditional cache contains 2 Dream travel bugs. The travel
bug’s missions are to be photographed in front of "Dream",
and then to be photographed on their travels in front of other
pieces of art across the world. In particular, other works of art
by Jaume Plensa.
This series of caches compliment the Digital Interpretation
trail at the site. The trail uses QR Codes, a web site designed to
be used on a mobile phones, Audio and Video content an Augmented
Reality Pithead Reconstruction and an Augmented Reality Toposcope.
So bring along your smart phones.
Dream
After the mine closed there was a feeling of loss. The miners,
locals and the council felt some kind of memorial would be
appropriate. St Helens Council took over the site and it but it is
managed by the Forestry Commission who have planted trees and and
transformed it into a community woodland. Many species of wildlife
have moved in.
Years later an opportunity for a memorial of some kind came with
Channel 4s Big Art Project when the ex miners group selected the
International Spanish Sculptor Jaume Plensa to design the
artwork.
Dream was the result. Built on the top of the former spoil
heap.It represents the head of a young girl in a dream like state.
She stands at 200 metres high the same height as the winding
gear.
The miners were adamant that they did not want a typical
“mining” memorial but something that remembered the
past but looked to the future. Dream was inspired by the idea of
light. St Helens motto is “Ex Terra Lucem” or
“Out of the earth comes light” and the miners
themselves dreamed of the light that they would see when they
finished working their shift in the dark.
She is also a young girl because women can give birth to
children and so she represents the future. Dream is currently being
visited by thousands of visitors every year a positive future for
the area.