About the artwork

Watercolour from sketches done at the time it visited Tavistock in 2018. The Man Engine was a multi-faceted cultural heritage project commissioned in June 2015 by the Cornwall Mining World Heritage Site (CMWHS) as the centerpiece of their 2016 ‘Tinth’ anniversary programme. The CMWHS wanted to increase awareness and appreciation of Cornwall’s distinctive mining heritage and encourage contemporary activity that responds to cultural inheritance. At the heart of the project was the design and creation of the largest mechanical puppet every made in Britain, and its pilgrimage through the mining landscape and communities of Cornwall. Awarded ‘Best Arts Project 2016’ by The National Lottery, the Man Engine celebrated Cornwall’s rich mining heritage and was witnessed by nearly 150,000 people over ten days. More than 112 million people viewed photos and videos of the spectacle across 104 countries worldwide. In 2018, the Big Boy returned for his Resurrection Tour across Cornwall and Devon, before driving further into Somerset, South Wales and up to the North of England. He again captured hearts and souls around the globe, and paid tribute to the men, women and children whose endeavor and enterprise, whose ingenuity and innovation, whose triumph and tragedy have powered the Cornish mining story.