A Mayo artist is building a life-sized model of a basking shark – the world’s second-largest fish – on Achill Island, where the species was once hunted. Tom Meskell is creating a 40-foot-long illuminated lantern sculpture for the Circus Science by the Sea Festival, hosted annually on the island by circus production company Circus250.
Basking sharks return each year to the island’s Atlantic coast, one of the few places in the world where they can be spotted in large numbers. Once hunted for their oil, these giants of the deep are now protected.
“I’m really thrilled to be building a basking shark on Achill Island. I’ve been wanting to do so since I visited the Natural History Museum in Dublin when I was a child and saw a shark there,” says Meskell, who is artist-in-residence for the maritime festival.
“There couldn’t be a better place than the island. It’s where I first saw a basking shark in real life. Incredible.”
Taking shape: Mayo artist Tom Meskell works on the framework of his 40-foot basking shark lantern sculpture at Coláiste Acla on Achill Island, ahead of its illuminated unveiling at the Circus Science by the Sea Festival on 13 November. Photo: Circus250
The life-sized shark is being constructed to hang from a high ceiling in Coláiste Acla in Dooega. Meskell began work on the 4th November, recording its creation in a daily online Shark Diary on social media.
Islanders and visitors have been invited to drop in and watch as wood, tissue and frames are transformed into a life-sized model.
The grand opening takes place this Friday, 13th November, at Coláiste Acla, when the fully illuminated shark will be revealed in an immersive light and sound exhibition designed to give visitors the sensation of encountering the shark underwater.
The Circus Science by the Sea Festival runs from 13th to 15th November on Achill, in Westport and in Mulranny, Co. Mayo, and is funded by Research Ireland.
