AN OPTICAL illusion in an incredible beachside location has been chosen as a landmark artwork for Copeland.

Provisionally titled Your Daylight Destination, Olafur Eliasson and Robert McFarlane’s piece is an elongated pool which, when viewed from a nearby platform, will form a perfect circle. The location will be at or near Silecroft, subject to planning permission.

It has been chosen as the flagship piece for the Deep Time art project – part of Copeland Council’s Connecting Cumbria’s Hidden Coast programme.

Elected mayor of Copeland, Mike Starkie, said: “It’s fantastic to see this project move forward, and I’d like to congratulate Olafur and Robert on their bold design – it will bring visitors from far and wide to see a unique and large scale piece of art in a stunning location.

“We are lucky enough to have breath-taking countryside in Copeland, but public art is another key ingredient in creating attractive places to live.

“The piece will also be a driver for tourism – I am sure people will come here to experience our coast in this unique way, and also discover the delights of this ‘secret’ corner of the county. The hope is that local businesses will see a boost from this attraction, and all the other investment we’ve delivered as part of the Connecting Cumbria’s Hidden Coast project.”

Situated in the tidal flats, Your Daylight Destination combines earth, sky, and sea in an expansive outdoor art attraction.

Your Daylight Destination’s artist, Olafur Eliasson, said: “I am delighted to have the opportunity to realise this contemplative artwork for Copeland. In a sense, it is a humble reflection of what is already there - the beach, the water, the sky, the plants and animals - reframed within a space that invites self-discovery in a deep-time perspective.”

Robert Macfarlane added: “Collaborating with Olafur and his team on this project has been a mind-bending pleasure. Having spent eight years writing Underland - a book exploring human and geological 'deep time'- I've hugely enjoyed applying some of this thinking to the creation of our artwork, especially in the context of a landscape and region that I've known for four decades now."