Salt and Sovereignty

Created by: Aumrak Shute

Sponsored by: University of Portsmouth

Location: University of Portsmouth, South Campus, Ravelin Sports Centre

Salt and Sovereignty is based on Aumrak’s first impression of Portsmouth and how deeply the Naval presence shapes the city’s identity. She felt it was essential to incorporate strong maritime elements into the design.

Aumrak decided to make the body an open sea with a sunset background and a couple of ships, including the HMS Victory and HMS Warrior, two of the city’s most iconic vessel. Subtle details are woven throughout the sculpture. Spinnaker Tower appears in the composition, the Portsmouth symbol and the tail being the anchor. As the sea carries onto the paw, she implemented the beach as it is one of the many attractive feature of the city.

The hair is a waterfall inspired by the flow of the sea and this adds variety to the design. And finally the base of the statue is like the hull of a ship with windows and the crescent and an eight-pointed star symbol of Portsmouth which is traditionally gold.

Audio description

Listen to a 1 minute 6 second audio description of the University of Portsmouth lion sculpture.