"Untitled", Oxford
It’s amazing what people can get accustomed to. Locals living in Headington, a quiet suburb on the eastern edge of Oxford, don’t seem to notice the 25 foot long headless shark embedded in the roof space of an otherwise undistinguished terraced house. The head turning and furrowed brows are now the preserve of outsiders who gaze quizzically at the fibreglass fish then look skywards as if the beast has crashed down from the heavens. But this fishy protrusion is not in place by accident and from the time it was craned into position on 9th of August 1986 the shark swam into a wave of controversy.
The owner of the house with the new finned extension was Bill Heine, an American expat who had commissioned sculptor John Buckley to create the piece. If Bill’s desire was to generate publicity he very quickly achieved his goal as pictures of the shark went from Oxford to Fleet Street and then around the world. Camera crews and the curious followed all questioning the motives behind the eccentric project. Bill replied that the shark, actually named ‘untitled’, was a comment on Cold War politics having been installed on the 41st anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb on Nagasaki. He told journalists,
“The shark was to express someone feeling totally impotent and ripping a hole in their roof out of a sense of impotence and anger and desperation….It is saying something about CND, nuclear, power, Chernobyl and Nagasaki. “
For many locals and council officials this artistic explanation did not provide Heine with the freedom to lower the tone and possibly the house prices in the area. At first the shark was hunted on the grounds that it posed a danger to public safety, but engineering reports on the girders supporting the structure suggested otherwise. The council decided they needed a ’bigger boat’ so used failure to comply with section 22 of the Town and Country Planning Act as grounds for removal. While the debates on the future of the shark became mired in council committees local people slotted into pro and anti camps. The shark was either a harmless bit of fun or an unlawful eyesore. Heine proved adept at stalling for time and in 1991 appealed to Michael Heseltine, then secretary of state for the environment, for clemency. In 1992 Heseltine’s inspector Peter Macdonald ruled in favour of the sculpture and the shark was free to remain a fish out of water.
In the time since then the much feared proliferation of similar structures has not taken place and the roofs of Oxford are not bursting with doppelgangers. In retrospect the fuss surrounding the shark seems incredible given the freedom with which thousands have been allowed to bolt ugly satellite dishes to the side of their houses. Now the shark is a landmark, photographed and ignored in equal measure, a symbol of individualism and glorious silliness.
How to get there
The shark can be spotted at 2 New High Street, Headington, Oxford, OX3 7AQ. The property is still owned by Bill Heine and is situated just off the London Road, the main eastern approach into the city. Look out for the Royal Standard pub on the corner. Google map.
Links
For more information on the history of the sculpture and some of Bill Heine's other projects see the Headington website.
Comments
Strange as it may seem, this is not the only domestic dwelling on which an enormous fish has ever been mounted. I was instantly reminded of a similar case in which a builder from Croydon stuck a huge stuffed marlin on his own roof.
I don't think that there was any political subtext for him. He was just really proud of his great big marlin.
He used to protest his right to free fishy expression by driving around South London in an eye-catching pink tank.
I've Googled fruitlessly for chapter and verse but only found this corroboration: http://www.boingboing.net/2006/04/19/cute_pink_tank_cozy.html
Which came first, the shark or the marlin? Does the Croydon fish survive? Don't know. Does anybody else?
Posted by: spud | July 27, 2006 10:12 AM
Sounds a bit fishy to me.
Posted by: amy nicholson | July 27, 2006 09:38 PM
The Croydon guy is my mate's uncle. I'll ask him for some more info. I've never met him, but he sounds pleasantly crackers.
Posted by: Gareth | July 27, 2006 10:19 PM
Small world!
Posted by: Anne | July 28, 2006 07:17 AM
I am trying to locate the sculptor, John Buckley, who created that terrific fish. I knew him years ago when I was a reporter living in England near Oxford and would very much like to reach him. Can anyone help with either an email address, phone number, or 'smail mail' address?
Many Thanks.
Posted by: Suzie K. | August 10, 2006 05:32 PM
I actually live in Headington, Oxford and the large shark isnt much talked about anymore. Oxford, being a university city, gets many visitors and we may hear the odd remark about some large fish in a roof, but thats all it gets!
There also used to be a full scaled model of a lady in a skirt on the opposite side of the road, and was just as large as the shark, if not, larger. and was used as a cinema. Unfortunitly it was removed a number of years ago after the sale of the building.
Posted by: Chunky | September 6, 2006 02:22 AM
It is correct that the shark was not the first large scale sculpture to dazzle the Headington skyline. A precursor to 'Untitled', the high kicking 'Can-Can'legs adorned the now demolished cinema which stood opposite the Shark in New High Street. The theatre was also owned by Bill Heine and he comissioned John Buckley to produce a pair of Parisian legs after he purchased the building in 1980. The previous owner had been in dispute regarding the name of the cinema, The Moulin Rouge, as his scheme to place a large windmill on the top of the premises was deemed misleading since the venue had no relationship with its more famous namesake in Paris. The sensational legs Buckley produced, complete with garter belt, stripey stockings and heels, were predictably rejected by planners, who cited the same reasons which had stymied the Windmill. In a move of simple genius Bill changed the name of the cinema to 'Not the Moulin Rouge' and the legs were allowed to remain. They continued to strike a permanent scissors kick unitl 1991 when the cinema closed down. The sculpture was then transfered to a sister venue in Brighton.
Does anyone know if they are still there?
Regarding Suzie K's efforts to track down John Buckley, why not try Bill Heine. He has a show on Radio Oxford and can be contacted through the station web site
Posted by: Maurice | September 26, 2006 05:06 PM
Yes Maurice the legs are still there (as at Sunday 8 October when I drove past) on top of the Duke of York's Arts Cinema in Preston Circus, Brighton
Posted by: Jeremy Kinsman | October 12, 2006 12:43 PM