New sculpture unveiled on Unst’s ‘Island Parish’ church

A new sculpture which incorporates the Christian symbol of the fish and the first words of the Bible has been unveiled in Unst.

Unst based artist Ted Harrison revealed the sculpture yesterday, on the bell tower of St John’s Church, which recently starred in the BBC television series Island Parish.

The sculpture is made from cut steel which has been mounted on drift wood.

Mr Harrison said: “I have intertwined the first words of The Bible with the first words of St John’s Gospel, both starting with the words “In the beginning”. The mirror finish steel is designed to catch the rising sun on the shortest day and be fully lit from dawn to midday on St John’s Day, mid summer.”

He added: “The idea was both to create a new version of the ancient Christian symbol of the fish and celebrate the modern-day fishing and aquaculture industries of Shetland. I hope the work will survive many winters here on Scotland’s most northerhly island.”

Ted Harrison’s previous large scale works include the focus of Remembrance under the dome of London’s St Paul’s Cathedral and a wall sculpture honouring organ donors at Guy’s Hospital, London, unveiled last year by Alan Titchmarsh.