Artist Dan Rawlings delicately hand-cuts an oil tanker to take over a church in Scunthorpe

British artist Dan Rawlings has taken over a former 19th-century church in Scunthorpe by installing a reclaimed oil tanker inside the space, one that he's transformed with his famous freehand drawings of intricate foliage motifs, delicately cut into the giant vehicle's steel body.

Written By: Katy Cowan

18 June 2021

Artist Dan Rawlings crouches on earth in front of his illuminated oil tanker installation inside a Gothic church, hand-cut with intricate foliage designs

Entitle Future Returns, the massive vehicle sits on top of nine tons of earth to create what Rawlings says is "an imagined, distant-future 'truck in the wilderness' landscape, creating a vision of a world where man's impact is being slowly reclaimed by nature". Launching tomorrow at the Visual Arts Centre, housed in the former St. John's Church building in Church Square, the unique artwork is Rawlings most ambitious to date. It's inspired by North Lincolnshire's past and present industry and our complex relationship with industrial production and fossil fuels.

Dan Rawlings' illuminated oil tanker artwork with hand-cut foliage designs sits on earth inside a Gothic church with soaring stone arches and vaulted ceiling

Dan Rawlings crouches beside illuminated sections of the oil tanker installation, revealing intricately hand-cut foliage patterns in the steel within the darkened church space

The reclaimed vehicle forms a commanding island, internally lit and surrounded by mounds of earth, oil barrels and dark mirror-like pools that reflect the church's vaulted roof, directing our attention to spilt oil pools. It hopes to "explore our manipulation and commercialisation of nature's resources and nature's ability to respond," as the Gallery puts it.

A self-taught artist, this is typical of Rawlings' practice. Recognised for his experimental style of drawing with a plasma cutter into large-scale metal forms, he also works with cars, planes, grain silos and road signs. "The plants in the sculptures are an acknowledgement that heavy industry is the root of so much in our lives," he says. "Most of what we know and rely on grows out of it, yet so much of it remains unseen. Despite their awe-inspiring scale, and the many lives dedicated to working in them, many people have never seen steelworks, factories or coal yards, and do not consider their existence – and yet our whole way of life stems from them."

A man sits contemplatively inside Dan Rawlings' illuminated oil tanker installation, surrounded by intricately hand-cut yellow and red tree motifs against a misty blue landscape

Dan Rawlings crouches beside a bright yellow oil tanker hand-cut with intricate foliage designs, positioned in front of a large-scale artwork depicting a misty forest landscape

He adds: "I like to bring people's attention to that, to make visible that truth. The foliage also draws attention to nature's resilience and ability to find a way to thrive. Whatever we take from nature, it always finds a way to take it back."

Future Returns by Dan Rawlings will take place at 20-21 Visual Arts Centre, Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire from 19 June until 25 September 2021. For up-to-date visiting times and booking information, go to www.2021visualartscentre.co.uk.