'Jenga block' sculpture for Littlehampton rejected
It was due to go outside the town's new leisure centre
Arun District Council spent £15,800 commissioning a sculpture for the Littlehampton Wave leisure centre – then promptly rejected it as ‘awful’.
The three timber waves were described as looking like pound signs, a pile of Jenga blocks and ‘something rearing up out of the sea in a menacing way’ by members of the development control committee on Wednesday.
The sculpture stands 4m high and is made of wood salvaged from the pool hall of the old leisure centre, which was demolished in 2017.
The plan was to install it on the centre’s Sea Road boundary.
While committee members were pleased to see the wood recycled and liked the idea of the sculpture, they were less than happy with the results.
Isabel Thurston (Green, Barnham) said: “I love the idea of this and the spirit behind it, I’m just very disappointed that whoever has designed it has not really come up with a very beautiful piece at all.
“They don’t seem to have even thought about doing anything other than piling up the timbers.
“I don’t understand why it’s squared off, why it’s so angular, if it’s meant to represent waves.
“It looks more like a pile of Jenga blocks really.”
Ricky Bower (Con, East Preston) called the design ‘awful’ and ‘ugly’ and said the sculpture would prove too tempting to youngsters wishing to climb it – not a difficult task – which could lead to people getting hurt.
June Hamilton (Ind, Pagham) said both the committee and the council would be ‘a laughing stock’ if they allowed the sculpture to be installed.
She added: “I hate to hurt anyone’s feelings but I think it’s really ugly.”