The Headington Shark
| Untitled 1986 | |
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The Headington Shark in 2007, before refurbishment
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| Artist | John Buckley |
| Year | 1986 |
| Type | Sculpture |
| Medium | Painted fibreglass |
| Dimensions | 7.6 m (25 ft) |
| Location | Headington, Oxford |
Coordinates: 51°45′32″N 1°12′48″W / 51.75882°N 1.213238°W
The Headington Shark (proper name Untitled 1986) is a rooftop sculpture located at 2 New High Street, Headington, Oxford, England, depicting a large shark embedded head-first in the roof of a house.
The shark first appeared on 9 August 1986.Bill Heine, a local radio presenter who owned the house until 2016, has said "The shark was to express someone feeling totally impotent and ripping a hole in their roof out of a sense of impotence and anger and desperation... It is saying something about CND, nuclear power, Chernobyl and Nagasaki". The sculpture, which is reported to weigh 4 long hundredweight (200 kg) and is 25 feet (7.6 m) long, and is made of painted fibreglass, is named Untitled 1986 (written on the gate of the house). The sculpture was erected on the 41st anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb on Nagasaki. It was designed by sculptor John Buckley and constructed by Anton Castiau, a local carpenter and friend of John Buckley.
For the occasion of the shark's 21st anniversary in August 2007, it was renovated by the sculptor, following earlier complaints about the condition of the sculpture and the house.
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