Bridlington Spa to host ‘Thousand Ships’ collective artwork project in September

Animated Objects has revealed the latest chapter in the three-year collaboration – The Odyssey: An Epic Adventure on the Yorkshire Coast.
The ‘Thousand Ships’ collective artwork project will see locals create 1,000 origami ships as part of the project at six venues. Photo submittedThe ‘Thousand Ships’ collective artwork project will see locals create 1,000 origami ships as part of the project at six venues. Photo submitted
The ‘Thousand Ships’ collective artwork project will see locals create 1,000 origami ships as part of the project at six venues. Photo submitted

The ‘Thousand Ships’ collective artwork project will see locals create 1,000 origami ships as part of the project at six venues along the coast.

The art installation will be on show at Bridlington Spa from Tuesday, September 7 to Tuesday, September 14.

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The inspiration behind the community-based art project comes from the famous quote by Christopher Marlowe; ‘Helen of Troy – the face that launched a thousand ships’ which saw Helen’s tragic love affair with Paris of Troy set in motion the conflict that caused the Trojan wars.

The ‘Thousand Ships’ collective artwork project will see locals create 1,000 origami ships as part of the project at six venues. Photo submittedThe ‘Thousand Ships’ collective artwork project will see locals create 1,000 origami ships as part of the project at six venues. Photo submitted
The ‘Thousand Ships’ collective artwork project will see locals create 1,000 origami ships as part of the project at six venues. Photo submitted

The project will represent the fleet of a thousand ships that sailed to reclaim her, a powerful scene that will be brought to life in current day by a collective artwork featuring colourful paper ships, folded by members of the public.

The paper ships are all made on specially printed origami paper created by artists based on the Yorkshire Coast

Each image is inspired by the coast and can be folded in different ways to produce a range of completed ship designs.

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Lee Threadgold, artistic director of Animated Objects said: “The response to this activity has been breath-taking, and we’re glad to say that every corner of the Yorkshire Coast will be represented in the completed fleet of paper ships.

“We’ve also been collecting people’s reflections on what they love about the Yorkshire Coast with their ships, and these contributions will also form part of the touring exhibition.”

The project is funded by the Yorkshire Coast BID; creating opportunities for people to discover, explore and enjoy the coast throughout the year.

Speaking of Yorkshire Coast BID’s involvement, chief executive Kerry Carruthers said: “We are delighted to be supporting such an interesting and unique exhibition coming to the coast this summer.”

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This activity follows on from the announcement of the Geo Location walking series, that features the voices of storytellers and performers from across the region, and original works by composers from the Yorkshire Coast.

Future events include giant puppets, beach art and a world record attempt with the creation of Yorkshire’s own version of the Trojan horse.

For more information visit www.animatedobjects.org or follow them on social media @animatedobjects