Ex terra lucem: from the Earth comes light

A check up at the hospital this afternoon took us to St Helens so we decided to visit this very large sculpture. I have often seen it from the motorway and wondered what it was all about. Apparently it is passed by approximately 100,000 vehicles every day which use the M62! It is built on the Sutton Manor Colliary which closed in 1991leaving 1500 men without jobs, although substantial coal still remains. The site was one of seven chosen for the Big Art Project for Channel 4 in 2006. The Spanish artist Jaume Plensa used pre-cast concrete and Spansih dolomite to create the 30m sculpture. Ex terra lucem is the motto of St Helens and the colliary. The work is called 'Dream' and is based on a girl's head with her eyes closed. The circular plinth on which is rests is representitive of the small tally which identified each miner. The local community and ex- miners wanted soemthing which would inspire people and look forward rather than a mining monument. The artist wrote 'When we dream, anything is possible' 
So here's to dreaming!