The man behind the Isle of Wight's monolith has been revealed - and it's claimed to be a carpenter from Ryde.
Tom Dunford, who was previously quoted as 'discovering' the structure on a walk along the beach, says he was inspired by the symbols in Romania and California.
Photo by Lee Peckham.
It was the fourth one to have been erected worldwide - following sightings in Utah, Romania and California. It led to speculation that aliens were behind the structure, much like in film 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Photo thanks to Barrie Robinson.
However, Tom - who works at the Meeting Pod Company in Ryde - has now stepped forward, claiming responsibility for its manufacture.
Speaking to Isle of Wight Radio he said:
"I'm just absolutely fascinated by engineering, or space or design or anything futuristic. So when I saw the one pop up in Utah it definitely drew my attention. And then when I saw the one in Romania, I received a text from my friend who said 'you're definitely the one who can do this'.
"I pondered on the idea but didn't really take it too seriously at the time. And then it was literally like a light bulb moment. I walked back to the office on Friday afternoon (4), and there was a sheet of perspex mirror that we had left over in stock by the office door and I thought this is perfect - I'm going to be the next monolith man."
He said the structure took around two and a half hours to build. A wooden subframe was used, before it was cladded in mirror.
Tom said "it probably took longer getting my finger prints off the mirror than it did actually building it."
🔊 Sound on 🔊 It made headlines worldwide - now the mystery of the Isle of Wight's monolith has been revealed...
Posted by Isle of Wight Radio on Tuesday, December 8, 2020
The monolith was then taken down to Compton beach - and installed at around 4am on Sunday morning.
It hit national headlines, featuring in CNN, the New York Post and Sky - to name a few publications.
29-year-old Tom, who is a former Southampton youth player, says he never expected it to prove so popular:
"My motive was purely to have some fun and cause a bit of a stir. Coming out of this it's quite good the Isle of Wight has got some publicity. There's obviously going to be some bad press and negative stuff - there always is with anything. But I think the positive - of just having something fun for people to talk about in the middle of the pandemic - outweighs the negatives."
Tom says that he has something else planned in the future - but is keeping his lips tightly sealed until then.
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