A life-size statue of Captain Tom Moore is set for a big public reveal in Leeds next month.
Created by artist Tony Clark from Colton and titled The Walk of Hope, the statue pays homage to the memory of the NHS fundraising hero who raised over £30m for NHS charities by walking 100 laps of his garden.
A survivor of the 2002 Bali bombings, Clark’s previous career involved buying and selling furniture. Now, he uses art as a therapeutic escape.
During the stasis of the first 2020 lockdown, Tony returned to his passion – creating a sculpture of Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa in March and raising over £9,500 for charity MIND in the process.
Whilst creating the Bielsa statue, he was inspired to start on another of Captain Tom Moore – who he described as “one of the icons of the Covid pandemic” – following a chat with a friend, Keith Sharratt.
Titled The Walk of Hope, the impressive statue of Captain Tom Moore was first unveiled on This Morning TV show with Holly and Phil. It is now set to go on display to the public at Thorpe Park this Saturday, 1st May,
Then, the hope is for it to be placed at the Captain’s birthplace in Keighley by Bradford City Council – although this is still to be confirmed at the time of writing.
Speaking on his creative process in constructing the statue, Clark said: “It took around two months to create Captain Tom in clay, from clay you make a mold, then create him in resin, then we cast him in bronze and the team build him up, weld him together and finish it.”
Locals may remember Mr Clark also previously created a sculpture of Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa in March 2020, raising over £9,500 for charity MIND in the process.
The Bielsa statue will join that of Captain Tom Mooreat The Springs pop-up store from Saturday, 12th June.
The pair will be joined by other famous faces cast in bronze, resin or brass, including those of Leeds United and Scottish legend Billy Bremner, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, boxers Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder, and Barcelona star Lionel Messi.
Miniature replicas of the statues will be available to purchase, with a percentage of sales going to local charities.
These include Leeds South and East Food Bank and Leeds North and West Food bank, the Yorkshire Air Ambulance, Martin House Children’s Hospice Near Wetherby, The Ciaran Bingham Foundation Trust.
