The open-sided kiosk in Bohenko Gateway Park on Market Street was transformed recently by a new addition to the Bohenko Gateway Park Sculpture Garden, a joint City and Portsmouth NH 400th, Inc. Legacy Project. The kiosk was created for the educational panels that detail Portsmouth’s maritime history and environment to complement the Sarah Long Memorial Bridge. It now glows a beautiful, deep blue as the backdrop for the new “Cod and the Mortal Sea” installation designed and installed by Terrence Parker, local artist and Terra Firma Landscape Architecture principal. 

City officials and the Portsmouth Public Art Review Committee join the PNH400 Board, Executive Team and Legacy Project Committee to accept Terrence Parker’s work with a brief ceremony on-site on October 24, 2024 at 4 pm. Musicians from Portsmouth Maritime Folk Festival will perform.

In March 2024, the Portsmouth City Council voted unanimously to accept PARC’s recommendation of the proposed gift of original public art to the City. Parker’s work was inspired by local historian Jeffrey Bolster’s Bancroft Prize-winning book The Mortal Sea, that details the long history of cod fishing on the Seacoast. The sculpture depicts a school of swimming codfish, each 24- to 48-inches long, crafted like a boat using laminated wood, marine epoxy and silver boat enamel. Suspended from the ceiling of the kiosk, about 10-feet off the ground, the fish move in the breeze. At night blue LED lights illuminate the fish and cast their shadows on the concrete floor of the kiosk.

The sponsors for Portsmouth NH 400th, Inc., including a grant from the Rockingham County American Rescue Plan Act funds, made the installation possible. Like Sijia Chen’s “Endeavor” sculpture, installed in December 2023, the new work honors both the City’s maritime heritage – in this case the Atlantic Cod that was an economic driver for the New England fishing industry -- and its ongoing commitment to the Seacoast marine environment as an Eco-Municipality and “Think Blue” water protection initiatives.

Portsmouth NH 400th, Inc. Managing Director Valerie Rochon commented, “When the PNH400 committee began reviewing projects, programs and events that might commemorate the city’s 400th year since European settlement we wanted to include elements that would last, Legacy Projects that would keep telling our community’s stories for future generations. The Bohenko Park Sculpture Garden was one of those fabulous ideas and we were thrilled to install the first piece, Sijia Chin’s Endeavor, at the very end of our Anniversary year. It’s so exciting to see the Legacy Project continue to grow with the addition of ‘Cod and the Mortal Sea.’ It’s fantastic that, already, our sculpture garden is attracting more interest and visitors to a part of town and the City’s new waterside park, that they may not have explored before. The legacy of Portsmouth’s 400th anniversary does, indeed, live on.”

PARC chair Christine Dwyer said, “The silvery codfish complement the Endeavor’s silver sails beautifully and will likely inspire ideas for additional artworks for Bohenko Gateway Park. The Public Art Review Committee is eager to speak with anyone interested in helping to sponsor additional works of art for all to enjoy."

Terrence Parker has created other works of outdoor public art in Portsmouth, including the “Working” sculpture outside the Foundry Garage, the Music Hall Arch, the Little Harbour School Memorial, and the Ruth Blay “History as Art” mural. He works with other artists, architects and artisans to create permanent works throughout the Seacoast.