Watch: Newly unveiled Liverpool Plinth sculpture explores maritime culture

A new sculpture celebrating those who have worked on Liverpool's docks has been unveiled on The Liverpool Plinth as it marks its fifth year.

Standing on Liverpool Parish Church, the artwork has been created by St Helens based contemporary sculptor, Katie McGuire.

The ‘2400’ sculpture was selected after an open call to artists in the North of England. Ms McGuire, 24, is the youngest artist who’s work has been chosen to feature on The Liverpool Plinth.

Bill Addy CEO of Liverpool BID Company said: "For me public art and art in general engages people's hearts and souls. It enables people to be taken into a different place as they interact with art and it’s really why we do it because it’s about stimulating people. It’s tremendous to have a sculpture which is so evocative of Liverpool's maritime history. I hope people will come along, look at it, ask questions and just really enjoy it."

Lucy Byrne, managing director of dot-art, said: "I'm so pleased we have a young, recently graduated artist (as the winner). The artists we've worked with in the past have been very well established, and that's wonderful in itself, but it is really nice to work with Katie, who is just starting out in her career as an artist.

“Hopefully, this award will give her a huge boost in her career. I think it shows how the next generation of artists are working with materials in a really interesting way actually and making it into a really interesting pieces of contemporary art."

The north’s answer to the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square

The winning sculpture, 2400, is created solely by hand knitting and is an emblem of the laboured approach of those working on Liverpool's ships, docks and throughout the slave trade.

The sculpture takes an industrial material, backer rod, out of its restricted and internal environment and manipulates it, through knitting, to provide it with a new context. The sculpture symbolises the chains used on ships or at docks, representing a vessel’s strength.

The North's answer to London's Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square, The Liverpool Plinth overlooks the city's famous Pier Head and River Mersey and has hosted a new sculpture every 12 months since 2018.