Manningtree has been clocking up the visit numbers throughout the Octopus Ahoy! project as intrepid explorers seek out our trail’s smallest sculpture. Measuring just 12 centimetres high, compared to its larger siblings which stand 4ft tall, ‘Bubs’ has been found over 380 times after the app amassed over 6,000 downloads in just a few weeks – a big achievement for such a small sculpture!
Designed and painted by artist Alana Fensom, also the creative behind ‘Octo-Naut’ and ‘Octavious’, this bubbly little fellow is situated in Townsends of Manningtree and pays homage to the town’s status of being the smallest in the UK.
The colourful, yet miniature, octopus forms a ‘big’ part of the art trail and has already pulled in a huge number of visitors, as has its larger sibling ‘Mondrianopus’, situated at The Walls. The diminutive artwork will likely also pull in a big bid when all the sculptures go up for sale to raise a gigantic sum for Essex and Tendring charities at the end of our trail.
The town, and the bookshop where the tiny sculpture has made its temporary home, has loved having ‘Bubs’ throughout the summer so far; Nicola Baines, of Townsends of Manningtree said: “Lovely to have something uplifting and positive. The trail has brought a lot of families to Manningtree. It’s been great hosting Bubs, lots of people have been in the shop looking for him, as he’s the smallest octopus in the smallest town!”
You can track ‘Bubs’, and the rest of our sculptures, down before the trail ends on 5th September using the free Octopus Ahoy! app – which you can download here.