Attleborough artist Mark Reed's sculpture, ‘Your Waves Go Over Me’, goes on display at Norwich Cathedral

The Attleborough artist behind a unique art installation that invites people to walk through a 10-metre wave of 3,000 fish has raised thousands of pounds for charity.

Mark Reed’s sculpture, titled ‘Your Waves Go Over Me’, has gone on display at Norwich Cathedral – and puts the spotlight on the importance of water through the ages; from the time of dinosaurs right through to the modern day and beyond.

On first look, the striking shoal of fish is an installation of great beauty but, on closer inspection, litter can be seen scattered among the fish – serving as a stark reminder of the ecological damage currently being done to the planet.

Describing the work, Mr Reed said: “Walking through the monumental breaking wave, visitors move backwards in time from the modern day with its pollution and plastics, past flotsam and jetsam of past eras including Gingko branches, cast bronze mice and bronze Ammonites.

“Water is intrinsic to all life on earth and the wave sculpture symbolises both its life- sustaining powers and the potentially destructive forces that water can unleash, especially when combined with increasingly threatening man-made climate chaos.”

The title of the sculpture is inspired by a quotation taken from the Psalms (42.9) – ‘All thy waves and storms are gone over me’ – a reference to how, whilst the Bible and modern science differ about many things, they are in agreement that life as we know it emerged from water.

Mr Reed’s project was made possible with the help of a team of volunteers, including students from Norwich University of the Arts, who spent a week carefully weaving the wave of iridescent fish together ahead of its unveiling earlier in the summer.

“It has been such a wonderful experience seeing my work being enjoyed by such a large and wide-ranging audience who have been overwhelming in their reaction to the Wave and its message,” said the father-of-four, whose children go to school in Old Buckenham and Kenninghall.

The 50-year-old – who has had his work exhibited extensively at Chelsea Flower Show and in sculpture parks and exhibitions throughout the UK and USA – added: “I love having a piece here in Norfolk; in the community that shapes me.

He added: “It was a marvellous atmosphere working with a great team of volunteers from the Cathedral and Norwich University of the Arts – especially after the recent Covid lockdowns.”

All of the iridescent stainless steel fish were individually hand crafted in Mr Reed’s Norfolk-studio and will go on sale to raise money for the Norwich Cathedral Charities – primarily the Cathedral Exhibition Fund, which enables new and emerging Norfolk artists to showcase their work.

The exhibition continues until October 30. The fish from Mr Reed’s sculpture are available to buy both at the Cathedral Hostry during opening times.

Alternatively, you can buy clicking here.