Boat Face

I haven't done a night time photo in Cardiff Bay for a while so took a drive there tonight to correct that.

This is one of my favourite piece of art. It is an iconic Cardiff Landmark that is directly outside the Welsh Parliament in Cardiff Bay.

Here's what the 'Boat Face' is -

The designer and sculptor of this unforgettable memorial in Wales is Brian Fell. It is made from steel and rivets - just like a real ship.

Approach the sculpture from one side or from the rear and you see a hull section of a merchant ship resting on a beach or the ocean floor, torn from the rest of the vessel, the ship’s framing exposed to the sea or the elements. Walk around to the other side and you see the face of every human lost forever to the sea incorporated in that same hull section. It rests on a mosaic of Italian marble by artists Louise Shenstone and Adrian Butler.

The memorial was commissioned in 1994 by the Cardiff Bay Arts Trust.

Inscribed around the edge of the mosaic are the words:

“IN MEMORY OF THE MERCHANT SEAFARERS FROM THE PORTS OF BARRY PENARTH CARDIFF WHO DIED IN TIMES OF WAR”

The memorial would not have happened without the efforts of the late Mr. Bill Henke MBE. He was the founder of the Merchant Navy Association (Wales). He spent years raising funds for the construction of the memorial. A plaque recognizing his efforts is located just outside the circular mosaic base of the memorial. He died alongside the memorial he fought so hard to raise.