SEE MONSTER

SEE MONSTER — Transforming global conversations with an ambitious, regenerative structure.

Project Type: Icon
CLIENT: UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK
LOCATION: Western-super-Mare, Uk
Year: 2022

Commission

In 2022, NEWSUBSTANCE was one of just 10 teams awarded a UK Government commission to create bold, ambitious work fueled by cross-sector collaboration.

The aim was to empower global conversations and capture imaginations as part of UNBOXED, a Government initiative and UK-wide celebration of creativity. From 300 applicants, our work was selected to become one of the country’s biggest and most inspiring commissions.

Response

We assembled a collaborative, cross-sector team of artists, mathematicians, scientists and more to create SEE MONSTER – a retired North Sea rig transformed into a striking public installation. The spectacle became a platform for conversations around reuse, renewables and the Great British weather.

The rig had spent decades at sea extracting from the Earth, and now was the time for change. SEE MONSTER saw us rehabilitate the structure to welcome in a brave new world, turning the platform into a catalyst for new ideas, ingenuity and imagination.

SEE MONSTER featured a helicopter deck amphitheatre and a garden deck full of exploratory renewable energy pieces. There was also a cellar deck with a cloud installation – created in partnership with the British Antarctic Survey – and a broadcast studio at its base. The free-to-access installation encouraged a diverse public audience to access and interact with art and culture in bold new ways.

During its nine weeks on display in Weston-super-Mare, SEE MONSTER welcomed more than half a million visitors and won multiple international awards. The project sparked imaginations across the country, and with discussions about further SEE MONSTERS underway, we’re ready to elevate the impact of this unique structure even further.