Whitby is renowned for its love of weird, wonderful and whimsical but a five-foot bronze mouse doing a handstand on top of a ball on the beach at Sandsend may have raised an eye-brow at least amongst the early-morning risers and dog walkers.
It was in fact a sculpture by Stephen Charlton, who trained at art school in York and has now returned to live up north in Hinderwell after 46 years away.
The piece, which he exhibited last Friday morning is his first local work since moving back six weeks ago.
Stephen’s sculptures have been shown at the Chelsea Flower Show, and he is separately known as a painter of dramatic subjects in oils, with recent painting commissions including Guinness and the Samaritans.
He said: “There’s something joyful about placing something completely unexpected in a place people know so well. A giant mouse doing a handstand on Sandsend beach makes people stop, giving a smile inside.
“That’s exactly what I want sculpture to do. Coming home to Yorkshire after all these years, I wanted my first piece here to be playful, not precious.”
He plans to display more pieces of his work around the town in unusual places.
