A striking new public artwork has officially arrived on the Liverpool waterfront, bringing local river folklore to life right in the heart of the city.

The piece, titled Skalli, is a seated figure that is part fish and part human, drawn from a folklore that feels as though it has always existed around the River Mersey. 

Created by artist Patric Rogers, the eye-catching work has been installed on the dedicated plinth at Liverpool Parish Church (St Nicholas), where it will remain on public display for the next twelve months.

Rooted in its close proximity to the Mersey, this new arrival draws on the river as a site of movement, exchange and memory.

The water carries arrivals and departures, shaping both the city and its sense of identity.

Managed by the Liverpool Business Improvement District (BID) and Liverpool Parish Church, this project sees a brand new piece of work installed on the church plinth each year to keep the city’s public spaces fresh and engaging.

Open to any sculptor working across the UK, the initiative stands as one of the last remaining open, annual sculpture competitions in the country, awarding the creator a £2,500 prize alongside the platform to exhibit their work publicly.

The final selection was made by an expert judging panel, which included Rector of Liverpool Fr Philip Anderson, Curator at DuoVision James Lawler, Art critic and writer from the Double Negative, Laura Robertson, James Minshull from Taylor Wessing, previous plinth exhibitor Ben Stephenson, and Joanna Rowlands from Liverpool Experience Campus.

The creator behind the piece, Patric Rogers, is a Liverpool-born, Wirral-based artist who works across sculpture, film and interdisciplinary forms.

 He is an award-winning filmmaker, a sculptor, painter, photographer, animator, writer and musician. 

His more recent body of work explores how history, folklore, and mythology shape belonging, and how these stories persist through people and environments. 

He is also a founding member of Material Matters, a Merseyside-based collective working across artistic and curatorial projects.

Contemporary Public Art Installations and Waterfront Heritage Storytelling

Patric Rogers said:

“Public art has the ability to add a layer of storytelling to a city’s streets, and what I wanted to explore with Skalli is the idea of how true that storytelling is. 

“The act of creating a piece of artwork to reflect a story gives it weight and heft, but it also becomes part of the story’s presumption of accuracy – ‘it must be true, there is an artwork of it’. 

“Skalli is a myth, a folklore, but is it real?

“ It plays with the idea of a tale about a creature from the river, interwoven in our sense of identity. 

“I am delighted to be the winner of the Liverpool Sculpture Prize. 

“Sculpture is an art form that’s rooted in accessibility for the viewer, but rarely is for the artist. Skalli incorporates technology to make it a more affordable piece to create and install. 

“If we do see sculpture in our streets and city squares as part of the fabric of our shared identity, we should look at how we are making it possible for artists from every work of life to add to that tapestry.”

The physical arrival of this maritime-inspired figure on the church plinth demonstrates how introducing new art can completely alter the daily experience of our urban spaces.

By placing the sculpture directly along a major pedestrian route near the docks, the project encourages everyday commuters and visitors to pause and interact with local folklore outside the formal walls of a traditional museum.

Using the local history of the River Mersey as a foundation allows the new piece to connect deeply with our historic maritime identity, making old waterfront tales tangible for a modern audience.

Urban Regeneration Schemes and Creative Industry Funding Opportunities

Katie Bentley from Liverpool Business Improvement District says:

“This is a really eye-catching work and it stood out amongst the other entries. 

“It is a reflection of the incredible artistic talent that now, in the third year of Liverpool Sculpture Prize, we continue to see such a rich vein of work being submitted. 

“Art plays such a vital role in our public realm, not simply animating our streets but as a place to gather our stories. 

“This is what Skalli is, it’s an artwork that could be real, could be part of an urban legend, and that’s such a playful aspect to it. I am looking forward to seeing people’s reactions to it.”

The Revd Philip Anderson, Rector of Liverpool, said:

“Liverpool Parish Church is the city’s original public space, and we’re delighted so many people have engaged each year with the changing artwork displayed on our plinth, encounters that help people see the world differently, and often bring a smile of recognition. 

“This year’s commission is in the best traditions of the prize, the work of a skilful sculptor, Patric Rogers, speaking to the city’s maritime heritage, and inviting Liverpool to ponder, with the mysterious, strangely familiar, Skalli.”

This ongoing partnership between commercial groups like the Liverpool BID and faith institutions highlights a growing regional focus on integrating fresh creative projects into everyday city centre management.

Providing a high-profile platform and financial backing for UK-based creators directly fuels our regional creative economy while enhancing the visual appeal of the business district.

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