Venus and Cupid, Morecambe Promenade

Venus and Cupid, Morecambe Promenade, originally uploaded by Bay Photographic.

This sculpture is positioned on a grass area at Scalestones Point on Morecambe Seafront. Designed in 2005 by Lancaster artist Shane Johnstone, it was originally destined for St. George's Quay in Lancaster, but was felt to be better suited to its present setting as a tribute to 'those who are lost at sea', which would include the 23 cocklers lost in 2004 in Morecambe Bay.
I have to confess that, despite having driven past it hundreds of times, I have always thought it was a depiction of a mother and child on the beach, and was a celebration of the open space and free moving air of the Morecambe Bay area.
Having read the placard next to it and discovered it to be Venus and Cupid, commemorating those lost at sea I shall look at it differently in the future.
The surface of the piece is beautifully smooth, but made of a mosaic of tiles. It is well proportioned, has a scale that is way beyond its size and sits well in the coastal scenery.
Amazing how much you can learn about things simply by stopping to photograph them.