17th November 2021. The National Coastwatch Institution station at Hengistbury Head has been visited by well-known street artist Hendog, who left behind a sample of his work.

The artwork of a small child fishing in a fishbowl was painted overnight by the Hampshire-based street artist known only as Hendog on the side of the NCI lookout station at Hengistbury Head. It is believed to be the first time the artist has produced a piece in Dorset, having left numerous examples of their street art in Basingstoke, Southampton and other places. Social media users were all for the mural remaining, with one commenting: “Hendog is awesome, [they have] done a lot of art in Winchester too.” Another said to “please preserve” the street art

NCI Hengistbury Head praised the artwork as “very cool” in a social media post and said it was attracting lots of visitors and photographers. However, as with most street art, the piece was not commissioned by the National Coastwatch Institution.  Station manager Peter Holway said: “Whilst we appreciate that the artwork added to the lookout overnight by street artist Hendog is really very good, we also need to emphasise that it is graffiti and that we cannot condone the building being used in this manner. Furthermore, the building isn't owned by the National Coastwatch Institution and we, therefore, have no say on whether the artwork will remain."

The photograph shows the Hendog art piece on the side of NCI Hengistbury Head coastwatch station. (Picture:Lyn Moreland)