Roman Mosaic c. 2025 by Jeremy Deller and Coralie Turpin. Courtesy Wild Eye

Seawatching Station

Jeremy Deller

“With its swooping whale, snapping seal and mischievous god, the artist’s tricksy new work, made with Coralie Turpin, is just one of the fun-filled additions to Scarborough’s Wild Eye coastal art trail” ★★★★ Hannah Clugston, The Guardian

The sixth and final work of the Wild Eye series is a new Seawatching Station featuring a permanent artwork commission by Turner Prize-winning artist Jeremy Deller.

Located on Marine Drive – one of the best spots on the English coast for observing dolphins and porpoises, with over 350 sightings in the past year – the Seawatching Station offers free telescopes and comprehensive wildlife information, providing insight into the area’s remarkable marine life.

Deller’s new artwork, Roman Mosaic c. 2025, created in collaboration with sculptor and mosaic artist Coralie Turpin, is an integral part of the Seawatching Station. This large-scale, fragmentary Roman-style floor mosaic is inspired by Scarborough’s marine life and Roman heritage.

Roman Mosaic c. 2025 has been developed in consultation with local scientists, conservationists, archaeologists and community groups and builds on Jeremy Deller’s long-standing fascination with cultural history.

Roman Mosaic c. 2025 by Jeremy Deller and Coralie Turpin. Courtesy Wild Eye

© Jules Lister
Artists Jeremy Deller and Coralie Turpin at Wild Eye seawatching station

© Jules Lister
The new Seawatching Station Community Launch on Marine Drive

© Richard Ponter
Roman Mosaic c. 2025 by Jeremy Deller and Coralie Turpin. Courtesy Wild Eye

© Jules Lister
Roman Mosaic c. 2025 by Jeremy Deller and Coralie Turpin. Courtesy Wild Eye

© Jules Lister
Roman Mosaic c. 2025 by Jeremy Deller and Coralie Turpin. Courtesy Wild Eye

© Jules Lister
Roman Mosaic c. 2025 by Jeremy Deller and Coralie Turpin. Courtesy Wild Eye

© Jules Lister
Roman Mosaic c. 2025 by Jeremy Deller and Coralie Turpin. Courtesy Wild Eye

© Jules Lister
Roman Mosaic c. 2025 by Jeremy Deller and Coralie Turpin. Courtesy Wild Eye

© Jules Lister
Roman Mosaic c. 2025 by Jeremy Deller and Coralie Turpin. Courtesy Wild Eye

© Jules Lister

Watch: The making of Roman Mosaic c. 2025, part of a new Seawatching Station

Listen to Social Broadcasts: Roman Mosaic c. 2025 and the new Seawatching Station

This podcast follows the making of Roman Mosaic c. 2025 and the new Seawatching Station. Hear the voices of artist Jeremy Deller, mosaic artist and sculptor Coralie Turpin, and local wildlife experts including Stuart Baines, and schoolchildren, exploring how art and nature come together on Scarborough’s Marine Drive.

Audio production and sound design by Lucia Scazzocchio from Social Broadcasts.

Read a transcript

Roman Mosaic c.2025 by Jeremy Deller, part of a new seawatching station for Scarborough at Marine Drive

“Art is a way of staying in love with the world. It is also a form of magic or a cover version of reality. Here in Scarborough, we propose a new ancient work to be created about the sea and the creatures within it which also hints at the possibility of the past being still present, just beneath our feet and perhaps inclines us to think about what traces we will leave behind on the world.” – Jeremy Deller

Coralie Turpin, Jeremy Deller and curator Jeanine Griffin review the mosaic design

© Jules Lister
© Roman mosaic inspiration for Jeremy Deller's new mosaic artwork
Coralie Turpin and Jeremy Deller in a mosaic workshop with Friarage school children, May 2024

© Jules Lister

BBC Radio 4 Front Row

Listen to Jeremy Deller speak about his new Wild Eye commission on a special Scarborough-focused episode of BBC Front Row (from 15mins).

Watch Jeremy Deller talking with Alice Sharp, Invisible Dust’s Artistic Director, about his ideas and new mosaic work for Scarborough (from 32.30 mins in).

Location

Marine Drive, Scarborough. YO11 1PG

What3Words Location:

///rents.sums.charmingly

Access Info:

Parking is available next to the sea watching station which Blue badge holders can use free. The sea watching station is accessible by a ramp as wel... Read more

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About Jeremy Deller

Jeremy Deller and Coralie Turpin photographed in Coralie's studio

Jeremy Deller is a British artist known worldwide for projects that explore contemporary culture and cultural history. These include a full-scale, inflatable replica of Stonehenge, commissioned by Glasgow International, which toured the UK as part of the Cultural Olympiad 2012, We’re Here Because We’re Here, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the first day of the Battle of the Somme, which took place in public spaces across the United Kingdom and The Battle of Orgreave, bringing together almost 1000 people in 2001 in a public re-enactment of a confrontation from the 1984 Miners’ Strike.

He won the Turner Prize in 2004 and represented Great Britain at the Venice Biennale in 2013. His book Art is Magic, charting over 20 years of his career, was published in 2023.

About Coralie Turpin

Coralie Turpin studied Fine Art Sculpture in Sheffield and continues to be based there, at Yorkshire Artspace Studios. She creates one-off site-specific mosaics for sites ranging from city centres and public parks, to schools and hospitals. She is a member of the British Association for Modern Mosaic.

Community Involvement

Jeremy Deller was selected in consultation with Wild Eye’s local advisory group. During May 2024 there were free workshops with local primary school students in conjunction with Big Ideas by the Sea Festival and The Big Dig.

Year 6 children from Friarage Primary School visited the Roman remains at the castle to look out for dolphins and porpoises from the headland. Under the expert guidance of Yorkshire-based artist Coralie Turpin and Scarborough-based artist Gaby Naptali, the children created stunning marine mosaics using a vibrant mix of glass and stone tiles that perfectly capture the beauty of local marine life, to be gifted to their school. Jeremy Deller joined the children to see their creativity in action and they went on to explore Scarborough’s past in the archaeological Big Dig.

Community events linked to this project (2024)

Collaboration with Big Ideas by the Sea Festival in May – Free mosaic workshops for school groups alongside The Big Dig
Public talk by Jeremy Deller in Scarborough on 22 May at St Mary’s Church, Scarborough as part of Big Ideas by the Sea Festival.
Scarborough Castle Wild Eye free residents open days: 26 May, 16 June, 22 September 2024: Seawatching activities with SeaWatch Foundation. The May open day also featured creative workshops linked to the mosaic and Roman Signal Station.
Seawatching event at the Marine Drive site on Sunday 4 August 2024 during Sea Watch’s National Dolphin and Whale Watch week, including free mosaic workshops. Over 200 people attended and people of all generations made sea-themed mosaics to take home.
Charity organisation, Wetwheels Yorkshire are using their accessible boat to take young disabled people from local schools on several marine wildlife viewing trips.