Around 3.35pm

This was a semi-permanent neon sculpture sited on the roof of The Dorman Museum in Middlesbrough, commissioned by Middlesbrough Council, launched in 2021. ‘Around 3.35pm’ takes as its key reference, ‘The Middlesbrough Meteorite’.

On 14th March, 1881, around 3.35pm, workers on the ‘Pennyman’s Railway Siding’ (now Roseberry Park) heard a rushing sound, followed by a thud. Further investigation revealed a meteorite, dated to a round 4.5 billion years old, meaning it was formed at the same time as the Earth.

Throughout history and culture meteorites have been seen as portents of doom or positive signs from Gods. In making this work it is, most honestly, a celebration of a unique piece of local history. By placing this sculpture on top of The Dorman Museum, it also guides people to the spot where they can see the meteorite; not the meteorite itself, as that’s held in The Yorkshire Museum (the Dorman Museum didn’t exist at the time), but a full-size cast all the same.

Beyond that, this playful neon sculpture is as open to interpretation as a meteorite’s appearance was to the ancients; it could be taken as a comment on the precarity of existence, it could equally be seen as a portent of great things to come.

Production Credits

S Mark Gubb - Artist/Creative Director

Middlesbrough Council - Commissioner

Navigator North - Project Management

Neon Workshops - Fabrication/Installation

With special thanks to Gordon Dalton and all at The Dorman Museum