A sea-inspired art exhibition showcases a town’s “vibrant and hard-working spirit”, its creators say.

Knot On Call, which is themed around an RNLI boat, welcomes people into Newhaven.

It includes poetic texts rippling off the inside of the boat to convey the spirit of the sea.

Artist Pete Hellicar said: “The sea provides both perspective and an eternal rhythm. It is at the primal heart of us all. Both chaotic and calm, balanced yet treacherous.

“We printed some 750 words collected from seafaring-related texts and cut these into strips. Mixed and placed on a large table, the exercise of randomly selecting sentences and pairing them with others threw up surprising combinations.

“Sometimes dark, other times light and full of whimsy. The word and line selection happened over several weeks as friends and collaborators visited the studio and played with the process.”

As part of the new exhibition the boat is in a bespoke area of Valley Ponds, welcoming people coming to the town from Lewes Road.

Knot On Call was first created in 2021 as part of Newhaven's Artwave festival but will now be rehomed in Valley Ponds.

Mayor of Newhaven, Councillor Pinky McLean-Knight (centre) met with Pete Hellicar (left) and Newhaven Lifeboat Operations Manager Roger Cohen MBE (right) at Valley PondsMayor of Newhaven Councillor Pinky McLean-Knight, centre, with Pete Hellicar, left, and Newhaven Lifeboat Operations Manager Roger Cohen MBE at Valley Ponds (Image: Rosalind Ashton | Newhaven RNLI)

The art installation was unveiled by Newhaven Mayor Pinky McLean-Knight, Pete Hellicar and Newhaven RNLI operations manager Roger Cohen MBE.

Cllr McLean-Knight said: “Knot On Call captures a great deal of what is Newhaven energy. Our town’s vibrant and hard-working spirit, a creative community, forever connected to the sea.

“We hope residents and visitors will enjoy this thoughtful sea and lifeboat heritage themed invitation and welcome into our town.”