Sculptures at the Seaside (9 Photos)

October 29, 2026

By Vidar

Sculptures that face the waves

A hundred iron men on Crosby Beach, a First World War soldier on the Seaham seafront and Eric Morecambe mid-dance above Morecambe Bay. These nine sculptures stand where the land runs out, and several of them get wet when the tide comes in.

🐍 “Serpent d’océan” — By Huang Yong Ping in Saint-Brevin-les-Pins, France 🇫🇷

A sea-serpent skeleton lies at Pointe de Mindin, where the Loire estuary meets the Atlantic. At low tide its whole spine is on the sand; when the water rises, much of it goes under.

💡 Artist Fact: Huang Yong Ping came from China to Paris in 1989 for the exhibition Les Magiciens de la Terre and stayed. Ten years later he represented France at the Venice Biennale; he died in October 2019.

More: Serpent of the Ocean by Huang Yong Ping in Saint-Brevin-les-Pins, France

🔱 “Neptuno del Puntón” — By Luis Arencibia in Telde, Gran Canaria, Spain 🇪🇸

Neptune stands on a rock just off Melenara Beach, and in a big swell the Atlantic swallows all of him but his head, arm and trident. Gran Canaria’s tourism site dates his inauguration to September 1, 2001.

💡 Nerd Fact: In November 2010 the waves tore off Neptune’s right arm and trident. The 2017 repair added an internal structure to the arm so it would hold, Telde Actualidad reported.

More: Neptuno del Puntón in Gran Canaria

🎖️ “1101” (Tommy) — By Ray Lonsdale in Seaham, England 🇬🇧

A First World War soldier sits on Terrace Green by the Seaham seafront, head lowered, rifle resting against him. The Corten steel figure is 2.87 meters tall and has rusted to a deep red-brown.

💡 Name Fact: Its official name, 1101 or Eleven-O-One, marks the first minute of peace after the armistice took effect at 11 a.m. on November 11, 1918. It was first shown on a temporary basis in May 2014, and local residents raised £102,000 to keep it, according to Wikipedia.

📷 Photo: “1101 (Tommy) Seaham” by J. R. Dickson / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

☀️ Eric Morecambe — By Graham Ibbeson in Morecambe, England 🇬🇧

Glasses on, binoculars around his neck, one hand up and one leg kicked back: the comedian is caught in his “Bring Me Sunshine” pose, with Morecambe Bay behind him. The Queen unveiled the bronze on the Morecambe promenade in July 1999.

💡 History Fact: In October 2014 vandals sawed off one of the statue’s legs. It was taken to London for repair and back on the promenade by December 11, 2014, according to Wikipedia.

📷 Photo: “Eric Morecambe statue, Morecambe” by The wub / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

🔗 Follow Graham Ibbeson on Instagram

👀 “La Bella Lola” — By Carmen Fraile in Torrevieja, Spain 🇪🇸

Lola sits on the seafront with her chin on her hand and her eyes on the horizon. This visitor took the seat beside her and started talking; she kept watching the water.

💡 Nerd Fact: Torrevieja’s official tourism page describes the statue as a tribute to the town’s women who watched their seafaring loved ones leave. In 2009 the town gave Oviedo a copy, also sculpted by Carmen Fraile.

More: Fun With Statues (26 Photos)

🎣 “Fiddler’s Green” — By Ray Lonsdale in North Shields, England 🇬🇧

A fisherman in a flat cap sits on the Fish Quay, seen here in silhouette from behind his shoulder, looking out over the water. Lonsdale made the figure in 2017 as a memorial to fishermen who lost their lives at sea; its name comes from the legend of Fiddler’s Green, Co-Curate notes.

📷 Photo: “‘Fiddlers Green’ by Ray Lonsdale (2017), Fish Quay, North Shields” by habiloid / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

🌬️ “Solace in the Wind” — By Max Patté in Wellington, New Zealand 🇳🇿

The figure leans out over the harbor with its chin up and arms back, as if the wind is holding it up. One visitor lined up a kick from the quayside, and the lean looks like a dodge.

💡 Nerd Fact: Solace in the Wind arrived in 2008 only on loan. After it won the People’s Choice Award at the Wellington Civic Trust Awards, the city council bought it for $60,000. Patté had earlier made Christian Bale’s suit for Batman Begins.

More: Playing With Statues (10 Photos)

🔗 Visit Max Patté’s website

🔗 Follow Max Patté on Instagram

🌊 “Another Place” — By Antony Gormley on Crosby Beach, England 🇬🇧

One hundred cast-iron figures stand along about 3.2 kilometers of beach between Waterloo and Blundellsands, all looking out to sea. Each is a cast of Gormley’s own body, 189 centimeters tall and weighing around 650 kilograms.

💡 History Fact: The figures came to Crosby on July 1, 2005, after stops on beaches in Cuxhaven, Stavanger and De Panne. They were meant to move on again, but on March 7, 2007, Sefton Council decided they could stay for good, according to Wikipedia.

📷 Photo: “Another Place3 edit2” by Chris Howells / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.5)

🫂 “Couple” — By Sean Henry in Newbiggin-by-the-Sea, England 🇬🇧

A man and a woman stand side by side on a platform out in Newbiggin Bay, looking out to sea while the waves break below them. The whole sculpture is 13 meters high and stands about 300 meters off the Northumberland coast, according to Wikipedia, which calls it the UK’s first permanent offshore sculpture.

💡 Nerd Fact: Couple was installed on August 17, 2007. A few months later a smaller version, Land Couple, was placed on land, looking out at the larger pair at sea.

📷 Photo: “Couple, 2007, Newbiggin Bay” by RJCook / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)