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Trash art reflects city centre gulls debate

Kate Justice
News imageBBC A sculpture of a seagull is lit up against the backdrop of the night sky. The uplit Worcester Cathedral is in the background. The sculpture is on top of a painted shipping container, with a sign advertising the creator as Sarah Dukes.BBC
'The Gulls', which are lit up at night using solar panels has just spent a month in the middle of Cathedral Square

A mobile art installation created entirely from litter and rubbish has reignited questions about city centre seagulls.

The Worcester Plinth is displaying a sculpture by Sarah Dukes titled 'The Gulls' which can currently be seen at the play park on Lansdowne Road.

"It is the rubbish that we throw down that has brought the gulls to the city," said Oliver Carpenter, the man behind the project.

The plinth is one of only a handful of mobile art works in the country and operates from the top of an illuminated shipping container.

Seagulls have for many years divided people living in Worcester with some people saying they should be culled.

At least 125 gull nests were removed by Worcester City Council workers in 2024 and at one point a hawk was employed to keep the numbers down.

The biggest populations are around the Blackpole Trading Estate, Shire Business Park and the city centre.

"Do people like gulls, there's a bit of doubt... should gulls be in Worcester? Should they be away from the coast? They are - and they are because of us," Carpenter said.

The debate about city gulls was not the only conversation sparked by the installation.

"There's something in it about migrancy, because we're not sure about these gulls... why are they here - things travelling, wanted, unwanted. I think there's a real story in there for now."

Dukes said she wanted people to "embrace all animals and birds" and hoped the fact that the installation was mobile would help spread the importance of art and creativity.

News imageA painted metal container, around 8 feet tall is in a park on a rainy day. There are two men stading in front of the container, wearing waterproof clothing. On top of it, you can see a seagull sculpture, six feet long. Behind the container is a bridge, which is painted with a bright mural. A woman stands on the bridge looking at the sculpture.
The Worcester Plinth is the only mobile art work in the county and is currently installed in the park on Lansdowne Road

'The Gulls' spent the last month in Worcester's Cathedral Square.

People living nearby welcomed it. Residents Mel and Ian Mackey said it looked really good and it was a pleasant surprise to see it.

News imageA man and a woman are smiling a the camera, whilst standing next to a river in the rain. The woman is on the left and is wearing a black coat and a pink baseball cap. The man has a grey beard and long dark grey hair, tied back. He is wearing a dark blue coat. In the background is a painted mural of otters, on the wall under a bridge.
Local residents Mel and Ian Mackey say the Plinth is a welcome addition to an already art-filled park

The plinth art is renewed every few months.

"We can go to housing estates and parks... anywhere we can get in with the truck, we can display art," said Carpenter.

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