Fisher Offshore Tools Up for Scottish Sculptural Project

04 June 2010

Fisher Offshore, part of James Fisher & Sons plc, has teamed up with client company, MTec Warehousing to support the installation of an extraordinary multi-part sculptural project, 6 Times, by celebrated British artist Antony Gormley. Fisher Offshore provided specialist tooling to allow personnel from MTec to position six life-sized figures between the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art and the sea.

Representatives from MTec used a variety of sophisticated and powerful Fisher Offshore tools to fix pre-drilled steel plates to the waterbed for the life-sized sculptures to rest on. Working at a depth of 1.5m, they used a BR67 breaker to clear stone and rock to make way for the plates. An SM22 pump prevented silt or spoil contaminating the water course and a multi-functional HD25 drill was used for heavy drilling into rock and concrete, as well as light drilling into metal. Power was supplied from a portable diesel hydraulic power unit (HPU) model DP56 with variable pump displacement (zero to 56 litres per minute).

“We are delighted to have played a supporting part in helping this prestigious National Galleries of Scotland project come to fruition,” says Ian Diack, Managing Director, Fisher Offshore. “As a Turner prize winner and the creator of Gateshead’s Angel of the North, Antony Gormley’s work has gained worldwide recognition. This unique project, which involves the siting of four of the figures in the Water of Leith, has been the perfect challenge for our specialist subsea tooling.”

The four figures sited at separate points along the Water of Leith were installed throughout June; the figure closest to the sea is sited at Leith Docks, while the first figure is located within the grounds of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art – and buried in the ground up to chest-level.

6 Times was commissioned by the National Galleries of Scotland with the help of a £150,000 grant from the Art Fund, funds from the Gulbenkian Museum of the Year Award 2004, and further support from The Patrons of the National Galleries of Scotland, Claire Enders and The Henry Moore Foundation. This is the first time that a work in the National Galleries’ collection has been permanently located across the City of Edinburgh.

Fisher Offshore specialises in equipment hire, sales and services for the offshore, subsea and marine industries. Based in Aberdeenshire, its extensive product range includes winches and hoists, marine cranes and deck equipment, and subsea hydraulic tooling.