My Heart Belongs to Hastings 2012

Participatory public artwork for Hastings seafront

Next time you visit Hastings, take a padlock with you. The project, My Heart Belongs to Hastings launched during the Coastal Currents Arts Festival in 2012, with an unveiling of the sculpture on 23rd September at Goats Ridge, opposite the statue of Queen Victoria at St. Leonard’s.

Anyone who finds themselves on Hastings seafront can contribute to the sculpture by attaching a padlock with a message, or simply their initials, as a love token or a reminder of their visit. Each padlock represents an individual member of the community. The sculpture was created using reclaimed greenheart groyne timbers from Pevensey Bay coastal defence work, each wooden post weathered by years of saltwater and spray.

Stainless steel mooring shackles were hung on the old timbers as the fixing points for the padlocks, which hang in organic fronds, similar in appearance to rope grown mussels, or lush seaweed. Strange Cargo delivered a series of artists led workshops across Hastings prior to the unveiling of the artwork, creating hundreds of beautifully decorated padlocks that were attached to the artwork. The interlinking padlock installation has grown in shape and size over the years, as new visitors attach hundreds more locks to the artwork.

The artwork was commissioned by Coastal Currents and thanks go to Arts Council England, Hastings Borough Council and The Environment Agency.