Bill Ming’s bronze sculpture, Against Da Tide, was unveiled on Front Street amid great fanfare in 2011.

Attached was a plaque with his name and a poem he created about the work.

Back on the island for the first time in seven years, the artist has spent nearly two weeks trying to discover why the bronze plaque has disappeared from his work.

“It just annoys me that I have to come here, 3,000 miles, to find out that nobody even noticed that it was missing,” said the 79-year-old, who left Bermuda as a merchant seaman in 1963 and settled in England eight years later.

“Bermudians, we actually take pride in what we do. We want to leave a legacy behind for our children. A lot of history’s been erased, it’s been wiped out; I don't want that to happen to my work.

“I want people to enjoy what I do, what I make – and learn from it. I’ve been [in England] for 50 years now and I’ve done a whole lot of work over there, in Soweto, in different parts of the world, and I don’t get this from them.”

Against Da Tide was commissioned by HSBC Bermuda as part of an effort to increase public art in Hamilton.

Mr Ming sketched his work and then hand carved an image of six men in a boat battling a wave.

The wood sculpture was then transported to China where it was cast in bronze before making the long journey here.

The piece sat outside HSBC’s headquarters on Front Street until the building was sold and transformed into Point House, an office and retail space.

Against Da Tide was then put in storage and Untitled (Three Dancing Figures), an installation by pop artist Keith Haring, took its place on Front Street.

Under the care of the Corporation of Hamilton, Against Da Tide was moved into Point Pleasant Park at Albuoy’s Point last year.

“I was knocked out by what they did, the job they did. I wrote to [Hamilton mayor Charles] Gosling and congratulated the team on showing the world what a collective crew of Bermudians can achieve when we all pull together,” Mr Ming said.

Back in Bermuda this month he noticed the plaque was missing and reached out to the Corporation.

He is yet to receive a response. However, following questions by The Royal Gazette, a City spokesperson admitted it had been misplaced.

“Against Da Tide has been a significant gift to the City of Hamilton. We have always endeavoured to place it in a prominent location to ensure that Bermudians and visitors alike can enjoy the work of Mr Ming for years to come and appreciate the meaning and historical symbolism behind it.

“Regrettably, in the transition of moving the sculpture from its previous location, the plaque was misplaced; this has caused significant concern.

“However, we recognise that we are duty-bound to replace it and will endeavour to do so as soon as possible.

“This by no means should be interpreted as a disrespectful oversight and we are actively in the process of rectifying this unfortunate situation.”

While visiting Albuoy’s Point on Sunday, Mr Ming wasn’t surprised when tourists from Florida peppered him with questions about the work and its origins.

“How can you have a sculpture with no title sitting in a permanent place like Albuoy’s Point and nobody notices?

“There's art on the corner by Keith Haring, his name is on his piece. I worked hard to put that thing together.”

Mr Ming taught himself woodcarving during his time as a merchant seaman. In 1979, after moving to England, he earned a degree in sculpture from Maidstone College of Art.

He became the first Black Henry Moore Fellow at John Moores University in Liverpool in 1992. By the time HSBC put out the call for art he had established himself through workshops, commissions and as a college lecturer.

As with everyone else, the pandemic derailed his plans. Mr Ming spent three years working in his attic.

His hope is that he will be able to showcase his efforts in an exhibit at Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art and at Tate or a similarly sized gallery in Britain.

For Bermuda, his plan is to retrace steps taken while a student at Elliot Primary School and during playtime at Devonshire Marsh.

“I'm walking my steps, tracing my steps back, looking at the architecture, looking at the roads, looking at the signs, looking at the trees, looking at the space – all those things,” he said.

His inspiration came from “the footprints of people leaving Africa wanting to come to Europe”.

“[It’s about] the movement of people and how things have changed. I'm just telling stories about people, people that want to get ahead in life and struggle against wars and feminine and the whole bit.”

What has struck him during his time here is how little open space there is on the island.

“People used to have farms, a little garden in their backyard – those things are now gone. Space is important for me as an artist.

“I used to do a lot of walking, particularly in the Derbyshire district in England, [and can] see the difference in the geography, how things have changed, how houses are so close you can touch each other out of windows. And that’s scary for me.”

It’s particularly worrying in Bermuda that green trees have been replaced with white roofs.

“I suppose you can't help it but it's a small island. I just read Bermuda is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. And it's scary.

“Because when you don't have space you want to fight for it, so you start to infringe or encroach on other people. People get selfish. We all want space to breathe.”

Although the pieces in England were inspired by Bermuda it is unlikely they will ever be shown here.

“I'm trying to get these things in the Tate gallery or hopefully [another] big gallery in London because these are 10ft high, 8ft wide.

“The pandemic took me back to my childhood in Bermuda and so a lot of these things are about growing up in Bermuda but I doubt if I can get them here because they are too big.

“It costs a lot of money. But that’s what I'm working on over there at the moment.”

Many are baskets and other pieces he crafted by hand in the way he did as a child.

“My garden [in England] is kind of big, and has a lot of trees so I was collecting the leaves and using them in the work. I’m trying to rekindle things I remember from growing up; going to school and seeing [cedar] trees and just admiring how majestic they grew.”