At a glance

Artist Annabel McCourt has been selected to create a permanent sculpture titled "Resonant Tides (After the Strike)" for Hull's waterfront, inspired by the city's connection to industrialist J. Arthur Rank and his famous gong. The sculpture, commissioned by the Wykeland Group and the Brignall family, aims to enhance Hull's cultural landscape and celebrate its historical ties.

An acclaimed artist has been selected to create a stunning new permanent sculpture occupying a prominent waterfront location in Hull.

Annabel McCourt was chosen for her proposal Resonant Tides (After the Strike), following an open call which attracted more than 70 applications from artists across the UK and beyond.

The sculpture will take inspiration from Hull’s links with industrialist and filmmaker J. Arthur Rank and the famous gong associated with the Rank Organisation. It will be located close to Hull’s waterfront, in the city’s Fruit Market area, where the River Hull meets the Humber estuary.

Annabel is an international contemporary artist whose work includes large-scale public art, installations, photography and film. She already has strong links with Hull - her Electric Fence installation was commissioned for Hull UK City of Culture 2017 and has since been shown internationally, including at the Dak’Art Biennale in Senegal. Her work has also been exhibited in Brazil, Australia and China, as well as across the UK.

Annabel said: “This commission feels like a real full-circle moment. Hull has been an important part of my career, from my early days at Hull Time Based Arts and working with the BBC, to Electric Fence for UK City of Culture 2017, my show at Humber Street Gallery and more recent work with Freedom Festival.

“It’s a privilege to create a sculpture for this particular location. Hull has shaped me and so many other artists over the years, and continues to support new talent. I want the sculpture to capture some of that energy, as well as the movement and change where the rivers meet.”

Annabel’s successful proposal has a fascinating link back to Hull. J. Arthur Rank was born into the family flour milling business, which had a mill close to the River Hull and later became associated with Rank Hovis. He went on to become one of the biggest names in British cinema, establishing the Rank Organisation, whose films began with an opening sequence depicting a shirtless man striking a huge gong.

The sculpture is envisioned as a deconstructed gong made up of nine large-scale segments. These rise from the platform in a series of arcs, ribbons and fractured planes, suggesting a tidal wave, a ship’s prow or a sound ripple caught in motion.

There is another connection to the Rank Organisation and to the waterfront location in the sculpture’s title. One of Rank’s early film productions was Turn of the Tide, released in 1935 and centred on a Yorkshire fishing community.

The artwork has been commissioned and will be funded by Hull-based regeneration company Wykeland Group, which is based in the Fruit Market, the Brignall family, and Wykeland’s Managing Director, Dominic Gibbons. Wykeland has driven forward the transformation of the Fruit Market over recent years and developed, owns and operates the Stage @TheDock amphitheatre.

Mr Gibbons said: “Culture and the arts have played a critical role in the successful transformation of the Fruit Market into a thriving urban village.

“This commission continues our commitment to supporting Hull’s cultural life and to putting the Fruit Market at the very heart of it. It will bring a significant new piece of public art to a very special part of the city.”

Wykeland was founded by entrepreneur and philanthropist the late Dr Jack Brignall MBE, and Wykeland and the Brignall family, through their charitable trust, have built on his legacy with long-standing support for Hull through a range of charitable, community and cultural projects.

The new artwork is being dedicated to Jack and his late wife Beryl.

Editorial insight

Public art commissions of this scale are relatively rare in regional cities, making the selection of Annabel McCourt for a prominent waterfront sculpture a notable investment in Hull’s cultural landscape. The decision to site the work at the Fruit Market, an area undergoing significant regeneration, highlights the ongoing role of the arts in supporting urban renewal and placemaking efforts outside London’s traditional cultural centres.

For local businesses and residents, the project signals continued confidence in Hull’s creative sector following the momentum generated by the 2017 UK City of Culture programme. The involvement of a private sector backer, Wykeland Group, reflects a wider pattern of regeneration companies using public art to enhance the appeal of mixed-use developments and foster community identity. The sculpture’s thematic links to Hull’s industrial and cinematic heritage may also offer a point of connection for visitors and locals, reinforcing the city’s distinct narrative within the region.

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