Four water-filled cars will rise and fall with Plymouth’s tide in extraordinary new citywide artwork

2nd September 2026

Artist David Cotterrell transforms four Ford Fiestas into tidal instruments for Intertidal, a major new Sea for Yourself commission appearing across Plymouth this autumn. 

Something unexpected is about to appear on Plymouth’s streets. 

From Thursday 3 September, four familiar Ford Fiestas will begin appearing in locations across the city... but look through the windows and they are anything but ordinary. 

Created by internationally recognised British installation artist David Cotterrell, Intertidal is a new public artwork that transforms four cars into tidal instruments. Using data, digital technology and engineering, each of the cars will fill with water to match the rise and fall of the tide times in Plymouth. 

The first four cars will appear at Tinside, Mount Batten, Tavistock Place outside The Box and Mount Edgcumbe, before moving between locations across Plymouth during September and October. 

Inside each radically re-engineered Fiesta, the water level rises and falls in response to tidal information. Hidden reservoirs, pumps, sensors, filtration systems, batteries and digital controls work together to translate data into physical movement. 

The result is neither a functioning road car nor a conventional sculpture. 

It is a machine for making the tide visible. 

Where does the sea really stop? 

Intertidal is the first major commission to be revealed through Sea for Yourself, a cultural programme led by Plymouth Culture in partnership with Plymouth Sound National Marine Park and Plymouth City Council. 

At the heart of the artwork is a deceptively simple question: where does the sea really stop? 

Plymouth is a city shaped by water, yet the changing tide can easily become part of the background to everyday life. 

By taking its rhythm away from the shoreline and placing it inside one of the most familiar objects in the urban landscape, Cotterrell invites people to notice that relationship again. 

A car parked beside a road, museum, ferry landing or community space may initially look completely ordinary. Look closer and another system is at work. 

Each vehicle uses its location and tidal information to determine what its internal water level should be. As the tide changes, water moves between a hidden reservoir and the visible cabin, creating an unexpected fragment of an intertidal environment within the city. 

The cars will travel between different communities and landscapes during the project, allowing the same tide to be encountered in very different parts of Plymouth. 

David Cotterrell, artist, said: 

“We live alongside the tide, but it’s remarkably easy to stop noticing it. I wanted to take that familiar rhythm and place it somewhere it doesn’t belong – inside an object we barely give a second glance. There’s something wonderfully strange about encountering an ordinary car and realising that it is quietly responding to the sea. My hope is that moment of surprise makes people pause, look again and perhaps notice the connections between Plymouth and the water that's all around us.” 

A collaboration between art, science and engineering 

Creating Intertidal has required an unusual collaboration between artists, engineers, fabricators, programmers and marine and tidal specialists. 

The original approximately 25-year-old Ford Fiestas were stripped back before being rebuilt for an entirely new purpose. Their engines and conventional operating systems made way for tanks, pumps, electrical systems, sensors, filtration, software and bespoke engineering. 

The project has involved expertise and support from organisations and specialists across Plymouth and beyond, including TR2 at Theatre Royal Plymouth, the Marine Biological Association, Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Blackwater Marina, EVParts, Toby Savage Design and digital developer Ashley Hancock. 

That collaboration is an important part of the story: Intertidal began as an artistic question, but making the seemingly impossible idea work has required expertise across multiple disciplines. 

Head of Project Development at TR2 Theatre Royal Plymouth, Seb Soper, said: 

“Working with David and Plymouth Culture has presented us with a distinctly different space in which to tell a story. Our team at TR2 are renowned for offering creative support and solutions to present all kinds of work, in all manner of spaces. Not only here in Plymouth but all over the UK and internationally. However, we usually would work in the familiar confines of a theatre or opera house, so we have all found this project particularly exciting, fascinating and challenging. David’s orchestration has proven a real collaborative and imaginative experience, as is always the case when making great work.” 

More than four cars 

The appearance of Intertidal across Plymouth is also the starting point for Tide Together, a programme inviting people to explore the tide through conversation, creativity, learning and play. 

Tide Cafés will bring residents, artists and specialists together for informal conversations about the sea and Plymouth Sound, while creative workshops, family activities and STEAM Stay and Play sessions will explore everything from the Moon and tides to marine life, engineering and people's personal relationships with the sea. 

A dedicated Key Stage 2 Tide Together resource has also been developed for schools, families and home educators. 

Activities will take place across Plymouth throughout September and October, with communities and organisations developing their own responses to Intertidal as the cars move around the city. 

Latest Tide Together community programme 

Intertidal forms part of Sea for Yourself, an ambitious cultural programme made possible with funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, thanks to National Lottery players, and Arts Council England’s Place Partnership Fund. 

This investment is supporting new ways for people and communities across Plymouth to connect with Plymouth Sound National Marine Park and its marine heritage through art, creativity, participation and digital innovation. 

Hannah Harris, CEO of Plymouth Culture, said: 

“The overall ambition of Sea for Yourself is to use creative digital projects to help connect and reconnect residents to the sea. This first commission is extremely ambitious in scale and also because it works across so many subject areas from art and digital to science and engineering. The aim of the project is to build curiosity by bringing the sea into the city so we can start conversations about the tide, helping people build a deeper relationship to Plymouth Sound National Marine Park.” 

Plymouth Sound National Marine Park 

Intertidal and Tide Together ultimately invite people to discover more about the extraordinary environment on Plymouth’s doorstep and the many different ways they can experience and become involved with Plymouth Sound National Marine Park. 

The programme creates a journey from an unexpected encounter with a car to discovering more about tides, Plymouth Sound, activities, learning, volunteering and opportunities to experience Plymouth Sound National Marine Park. 

Councillor Tudor Evans OBE, Leader of Plymouth City Council, said: 

“Intertidal is a brilliant example of Plymouth’s creativity and innovation, taking something as familiar as the tide and presenting it in a completely unexpected way. As home to the UK’s first National Marine Park, we are finding new ways to connect people with Plymouth Sound and the extraordinary environment on our doorstep. By bringing art into everyday spaces across the city, this project will spark curiosity, conversation and a deeper connection with the sea that shapes our identity.” 

Where to see Intertidal first 

From 3 September 2026, the first four Intertidal cars can be found at: 

• Tinside, Plymouth Hoe 

• Mount Batten Car Park, Mount Batten 

• The Box, Tavistock Place 

• Mount Edgcumbe, near the ferry landing 

The cars will subsequently move to new and surprising locations across Plymouth throughout September and October. 

Visitors can follow the latest locations, discover Tide Together activities and explore learning resources through the Plymouth Sound National Marine Park website: Tide Together and Interdial