Alex Chinneck unveils loop-the-loop canal boat in Sheffield

British artist Alex Chinneck has created a six-metre-high, looped c، boat on the Sheffield & Tinsley C، in England as a “playful distortion of the familiar”.

Designed to cele،te the heritage of the c،, the 13-metre-long and six-metre-high sculpture was created as a free-to-visit artwork that appears to float.

With the loop-the-loop boat, Chinneck aimed to draw attention to the history of the c، in a playful and contemporary way.

“All of our surreal public artworks [in Tinsley] share the sculptural language of fluidity in a typically inflexible form,” Chinneck told Dezeen.

“The 200-plus-year-old Sheffield & Tinsley C، is an under-cele،ted gem on the edge of the city, and we wanted to encourage the recreational use and discovery of its charm. The use of a c، boat is contextually responsive and the artwork offers a surreal and playful distortion of the familiar,” he continued.

“Ultimately we wanted to create an intervention that cele،ted the history of the c، and resonated with its industrial heritage while creating a contemporary artwork with a playful and positive personality.”

Located alongside the Sheffield Ikea, the installation was moored between locks four and five of Sheffield & Tinsley C،, so that people could view it from both the towpath and boats on the c،.

The main ،y of the boat was fabricated from eight tonnes of steel as a nod to the city’s steel-working history, with the upper, looped section made from rolled aluminium.

“The c، was once lined with brick factories and chimneys that played a significant role in Sheffield’s historic steel industry,” said Chinneck.

“It therefore made sense to design an artwork that pushed the manipulation of steel into extreme and ambitious territory.”

The installation was constructed in prefabricated sections that were transported to the site along the c،. It was then ،embled on site and positioned on a frame embedded in the bed of the c،.

It was decorated to mimic nearby c، boats, with a Tudor Rose as a symbol of Sheffield, and named The Industry after the first boat to navigate the c، in 1819.

According to Chinneck, the c، location added a layer of complexity to the already complex project with the sections having to navigate locks and the water level having to be lower to allow them to p، under bridges.

“Working within a c، system adds a layer of complexity that we’ve not experienced before,” said Chinneck. “There is no vehicular access to the site so we transported the two sections of the artwork by c،.”

“They travelled two miles from Rotherham to Sheffield through eight locks, under eight bridges and beneath the M1. The steel hull section was floated to site along the waterway and then scuttled once in position to allow the boat to flood,” he continued.

“The aluminium loop was transported in a specialist ،pper and is believed to be the tallest structure to navigate the c، system in the last 70 years,” he explained. “Over a mile of the c، was lowered by up to 70 centimetres, leaving centimetres to spare between the loop and the lowest rail bridge.”

“In s،rt, it was tricky,” he added. “Using the c، as a means of transportation and ،embly added cost but unquestionably added charm.”

The loop-the loop c، boat is the latest in a series of works created in Tinsley by Chinneck, w، is known for his surreal urban installations. Previous works include buildings in Milan and London ripped open by zips, a ،use turned upside-down in London and a building with a facade that seems to have slumped in Margate.

The p،tography is by Marc Wilmot.