Me and Yankee Jack! I love this sculpture, on the harbour side at Watchet, Somerset, of a local man John Short. He was a sailor (living between 1839 and 1933), with a tremendous voice who, over the years, learned many sea shanties and led the crew in the singing, which was tempo for the work on deck. His nick name comes from the time in his sailing career when some of his ships ran the blockade in the American Civil War.
I love how this sculpture is placed on the same level as the people rather than elevated on a dias. And it has been placed between two benches, so he is just some one else sitting down. Rather delightfully, people come along, maybe drape their arm around him, or sit on his lap – as a little girl did when I was there. It made that area such a friendly place and a place of sharing moments of connection with other people, however briefly.
The sculptor was Alan Herriot.
Dr Gs Art Pages 