Dunkirk little ship features in mural by the coast

Photographer Jack Lowe has created a giant post mural of the Dunkirk 'little ship' Lucy Lavers at Stiffkey. The Lucy Lavers has been restored by the group Rescue Wooden Boats. Image: Jack Lowe (Image: Archant)

And now, partly thanks to social distancing restrictions, a huge artwork of the Lucy Lavers adorns the Maritime Heritage Centre at Stiffkey.

Photographer Jack Lowe, 44, has produced the eight-metre wide poster using an innovative technique on 52 sheets of paper.

Mr Lowe, from Newcastle upon Tyne, said: “I had to learn the process of pasting print onto walls, and how to make my own glue.

“The building is corrugated, so I had to stretch the image so it looked right on the wall. It worked great.”

Photographer Jack Lowe has created a giant post mural of the Dunkirk 'little ship' Lucy Lavers at Stiffkey. The Lucy Lavers has been restored by the group Rescue Wooden Boats. Image: Jack Lowe (Image: Archant)

Lucy Lavers was restored by the maritime conservation group Rescue Wooden Boats, and the vessel is now based at Wells-next-the-Sea.

MORE: Former lifeboat Lucy Lavers blessed ahead of journey from Stiffkey to DunkirkMr Lowe photographed the boat using a Victorian technique of photography on glass in 2017, as part of his ongoing Lifeboat Station Project.

He has been working on that project since 2015, aiming to photograph all 238 RNLI lifeboat stations and their crews in the UK and Ireland, using the same old-fashioned technique.

Mr Lowe said: “Lockdown brought everything to a halt because the RNLI closed their lifeboat stations to the public. So I had to put my thinking cap on and find a way to keep the project alive through the pandemic.”

The RNLI crew at Hunstanton Lifeboat Station, as photographed by Jack Lowe using Victorian photographic techniques as part of his Lifeboat Station Project. Picture: Jack Lowe (Image: © Jack Lowe 2015 All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced without written permission from Jack Lowe.)

He said seeing a documentary about the French street artist JR made him consider ways of sharing his photography outdoors.

Mr Lowe said the response to the mural had been “fantastic”.

He said: “We’ve already had a lot of people stopping by who had heard about the project.

“They can enjoy the photographs outdoors without having to go into the museum space, and be educated about the RNLI and the Rescue Wooden Boats.”

Photographer Jack Lowe has created a giant post mural of the Dunkirk 'little ship' Lucy Lavers at Stiffkey. The Lucy Lavers has been restored by the group Rescue Wooden Boats. Image: Jack Lowe (Image: Archant)

Mr Lowe said he hoped to use the technique to create other murals from his photographs around the country.

He said: “It would be great to have them dotted around the coastline - it would like walking around a giant, UK-sized gallery.”

To see more of Mr Lowe’s lifeboat station photography, visit lifeboatstationproject.com.

The RNLI crew at Cromer Lifeboat Station, as photographed by Jack Lowe using Victorian photographic techniques as part of his Lifeboat Station Project. Picture: Jack Lowe (Image: © Jack Lowe 2015All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced without written permission from Jack Lowe.)

Photographer Jack Lowe has created a giant post mural of the Dunkirk 'little ship' Lucy Lavers at Stiffkey. The Lucy Lavers has been restored by the group Rescue Wooden Boats. Image: Jack Lowe (Image: Archant)

The RNLI crew at Wells-next-the-Sea Lifeboat Station, as photographed by Jack Lowe using Victorian photographic techniques as part of his Lifeboat Station Project. Picture: Jack Lowe (Image: Archant)

Photographer Jack Lowe has created a giant post mural of the Dunkirk 'little ship' Lucy Lavers at Stiffkey. The Lucy Lavers has been restored by the group Rescue Wooden Boats. Image: Jack Lowe (Image: Archant)

Photographer Jack Lowe has created a giant post mural of the Dunkirk 'little ship' Lucy Lavers at Stiffkey. The Lucy Lavers has been restored by the group Rescue Wooden Boats. Image: Jack Lowe (Image: Archant)

Photographer Jack Lowe has created a giant post mural of the Dunkirk 'little ship' Lucy Lavers at Stiffkey. The Lucy Lavers has been restored by the group Rescue Wooden Boats. Image: Jack Lowe (Image: Archant)

Photographer Jack Lowe has created a giant post mural of the Dunkirk 'little ship' Lucy Lavers at Stiffkey. The Lucy Lavers has been restored by the group Rescue Wooden Boats. Image: Jack Lowe (Image: Archant)

Photographer Jack Lowe has created a giant post mural of the Dunkirk 'little ship' Lucy Lavers at Stiffkey. The Lucy Lavers has been restored by the group Rescue Wooden Boats. Image: Jack Lowe (Image: Archant)

Photographer Jack Lowe has created a giant post mural of the Dunkirk 'little ship' Lucy Lavers at Stiffkey. The Lucy Lavers has been restored by the group Rescue Wooden Boats. Image: Jack Lowe (Image: Archant)