A HUGE head and shoulders sculpture which celebrates the region’s industrial heritage has been installed at a business park.

The 16-metre, 4.7-tonne scaffolding structure was lowered into place near Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, yesterday.

In Our Image, on the A167 near Aycliffe Business Park, is designed to look as if it is under construction to honour the workers who make everyday household goods.

Designed by Newcastle-based artist Joseph Hillier, it took two years to complete and was built nearby by Aycliffe Fabrications.

Mr Hillier, 35, said: “We wanted to make something that celebrated the work which goes on in Newton Aycliffe every day.

“This is a working town, people here make stuff. I’m a sculptor, I make stuff, we have that in common.

“I hope that the people of Newton Aycliffe take to it and enjoy it.”

Installing the piece took several hours yesterday and workers are expected to be on site until Friday.

At 7.30am, it was hoisted onto a low loader for a 45-minute journey to the site and Mr Hillier walked alongside it.

He said: “It was a bit of a relief to see it going up. I’ve really enjoyed working on it, but the beauty of working on smaller projects is I can do most of the work myself.

That said, it has been great working with Aycliffe Fabrications, who have been so flexible.

“Increasingly, they are doing a lot of artists’ work and architectural projects using their existing skills and developing new ones.”

Five welders from Aycliffe Fabrications were used as models for the near life-size laser-cut figures that appear to be working and climbing on the grid of welded steel.

It took 5,000 hours to complete and is maintenance free, but the surrounding trees will be pruned to make sure it remains visible.

The £165,000 piece was originally commissioned by Sedgefield Borough Council, but became the responsibility of the county council after the creation of Durham’s unitary authority.

County councillor Neil Foster said: “In Our Image will go a long way to represent the hard work and progress that has been made in regenerating Newton Aycliffe.

“This magnificent landmark not only honours the town’s strong industrial heritage, but also looks to the future vision of cementing Newton Aycliffe as an industrial force once more.”

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