Our Story

Voyaging from the far reaches of the North Sea, SEE MONSTER endured blustery winds and roaring waves as it encircled the UK coast in search of a new home. After a lifetime weathering the stormy seas, the retired rig was reborn at shore in the former 1930s lido, the Tropicana. Audiences from far and wide flocked to the beach to welcome SEE MONSTER, the wild beast that had never been seen before…

By the Autumn of 2022, having been transformed along its journey, the weather-beaten monster came alive in Weston-super-Mare, as a colossal manifestation of all it had witnessed along its journey around the turbulent coast. The reawakened entity was a joyous celebration of the great British weather and British eccentricity, presenting a new vision for what the monster could become. As a pioneer towards a greener future, SEE MONSTER explored the concept of inherited structures, be those physical, social, or environmental. What do we do with the structures we inherit? And what actions can they inspire?

With the opportunity to travel up and inside, visitors could pass behind the thrashing cascade of a 10-metre waterfall, and under the shimmering scales, into the cavernous underbelly of the beast… Within the wild garden visitors could find hidden routes to explore the rehabilitated monster; embedded throughout were new approaches to a more sustainable and greener future. Whatever the weather, SEE MONSTER encouraged interaction and playfulness at the heart of Britain’s cultural cornerstone: creating the sense of children gleefully jumping in puddles, whilst adults grumble at drizzly grey skies and strangers bond over something mutually shared.

As a creation of new from old, the regeneration of the rig championed the role of reuse and creativity within our future.

SEE MONSTER was part of UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK, a once-in-a-lifetime celebration of creativity that took place across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and online from March to November 2022.