Brunel's ss Great Britain 'floated' on sea of jelly

A ship moored in Bristol has been "floated" in a sea of neon-green jelly as part of a cultural festival. The ss Great Britain, which is now a visitor attraction, is one of 10 sites to be matched with artists as part of the Museums at Night season. The ship's glass "sea" has been covered with 55,000 litres of jelly which will be lit from below after sunset.

A spokesman for the tourist attraction said the jellymongers' work would make a "stunning" piece of modern art. A team of 10 people started mixing the jelly in barrels and using industrial paint mixers early on Friday morning. The team's going to push the jelly around the boat which will take about six hours.

Artist Harry Parr, from jellymongers Bompas and Parr, said the mixture used sodium alginate derived from seaweed, industrial dye and a lime flavouring. "It smells incredible, we're setting the ship afloat on a sea of lime green jelly," he said. 

"I've never done anything like this before... the team's going to push the jelly around the boat which will take about six hours. It will look beautiful during the day with its fluorescent green glow but as the light falls later it will be lit from below and will be really spectacular."

Rhian Tritton, who is the ship's director of conservation, came up with the idea. "I thought the conjunction of jelly, which is a perfect 19th Century food, worked well with the ss Great Britain, which is a perfect 19th Century ship. The obvious thing was to have jelly on the glass plate," she added.