The Plymouth Rock is a geological object that entered our cultural history when in 1741, it was claimed to have been the first thing the Pilgrim Fathers set foot on when they landed in Massachusetts in 1620.
Since the 18th Century it has been treated as an artefact that can be moved and manipulated according to cultural and political situations at the time: relocated several times within the town of Plymouth; it was dropped and broken numerous times during transportation; pieces were chipped off as souvenirs; the year of the Pilgrims’ arrival was inscribed on it; and its larger parts were eventually patched together with concrete to become one – now smaller – rock again.
This conglomerate is the famous monument you can visit today.
The artist Tommy Støckel highlights the sculptural transformations that the Plymouth Rock has undergone over time and plays with the possibility of further destruction! Based on a 3D scan of the famous rock a life-size concrete NEW PLYMOUTH ROCK has been created.
This low-polygon version is placed in the city centre of Plymouth, UK –the town from where the Mayflower ship embarked in 1620.
Accompanying the concrete sculpture is this app, which lets you make all sorts of imaginable manipulations of the Plymouth Rock. Roll it with a tap; chip off bits; sculpt and break the monument!
We invite you to share your uniquely manipulated Plymouth Rock with us, and your version may become the basis for a forthcoming concrete sculpture: a NEW PLYMOUTH ROCK in 2020!
NEW PLYMOUTH ROCKS is commissioned for The Atlantic Project: After the Future in Plymouth, UK
The artist wishes to thank:
Pilgrim Memorial State Park
Department of Conservation and Recreation Massachusetts
Plymouth 400, inc
Danish Arts Foundation