Results tagged “sculpture”

Over the past few years, I have been posting the plaster pigs that have popped up around London by German artist lovepiepenbrinck. I always enjoy seeing these when I am wandering around London, and the photographs here were taken in various locations around east London. I've covered the "Love Pigs" in my previous posts Street Art: Love Piepenbrinck and More Art Pigs by Love Piepenbrinck.

(Previously posted but I got a better photograph this time)

Let me know if you know where some of these are located as I'd love to get more photographs.

For more information about Love Piepenbrinck, visit the official website: http://www.lovepiepenbrinck.com/. Or, see photographs: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lovepiepenbrinck/. View the Facebook page with photographs of various pigs: https://www.facebook.com/love.piepenbrinck 

Street artist Cityzen Kane creates sculptures inspired by tribal themes, and his work is unique to the streets in that it is sculpture as opposed to two-dimensional artwork. I originally covered his work here and here, and those posts contain some of his earlier pieces. I've also seen his work in Bristol last year and in Dulwich a few years ago. The most recent piece in London that I know about appeared a couple of years ago on the corner at Redchurch Street and features a beautiful black and red mural.

I came across these new pieces pasted on a board on Sclater Street a couple of weekends ago. These feature similar sculptures that the artist has created before. 

There's another Cityzen Kane mural in the Leake Street tunnel underneath Waterloo, and I will be posting that separately.

Be sure to check out his other work around the corner on Redchurch Street too as it's such a great piece. 

In September of 2014, a bronze statue of singer Amy Winehouse was revealed in Camden Stables Market. The singer was from Camden and lived there until she died aged 27 from alcohol poisioning in the summer of 2011. The statue portrays a life-size Amy. It shows her with her signature beehive hair style and high heels. A real flower can be placed in her hair. When I visited, it was a red flower with a red band, but it was traditionally a rose when the statue was placed in the market.

Amy would have been 31 years of age when the statue was placed in Stables Market. The plaque at her feet commemorates a framed birthday photograph, and others have placed woven bracelets on her wrists and a flower at her feet.

I love her music and her death was such a big loss. I miss what other hits she could have made that I and others would have listened to. Rest in peace, Amy.

Winter Lights is an art exhibition that uses elements of light, sound, and sculpture in combination. The free-to-visit exhibition features eighteeen different artworks and is on display at Canary Wharf in east London until January 22 and is available to view between 4:00p.m. and 10:00p.m. I recommend waiting until 5:00p.m. in order to see the outdoor ones because I found it too bright earlier in the day. Winter Lights is the substitute for the Ice Sculpting Festival that Canary Wharf used to host until 2014. This is the second year in a row that Canary Wharf has hosted the light festival in lieu of the ice sculpture one.

Last week, I went to visit Winter Lights to view the artwork. I was not disappointed as there are a couple of gems and some really nice pieces. There were a few that I did not think so much of, but appreciating art is down to the viewer. I recommend visiting before they leave Canary Wharf on the 22nd. Below is a break-down of the work on display.

The Luminous City by Nathaniel Rackowe

Nathaniel Rackowe created a few pieces for the exhibit under the guise of 'The Luminous City', and only my favourites are listed here. The concept combines architecture and light. 'The Consequence of Light' features a moving block of lights that raises and lowers itself to light up individual wooden blocks in a grid pattern. 'Black Shed Expanded' shows a wooden frame with light emitting from the ends of the frame. 

A Parallel Image by Gebhard Sengmüller

This sculpture uses technology and displays each light on a panel as a pixel; each bulb of light represents a pixel transmitted via a separate wire. Over 2,500 cables are used to create this sculpture, which the viewer can walk around and see in action.

Moon by Daniel Iregui

This interactive sculpture creates a series of projected lights that form 'layers' in the empty space and also creates loud bass sounds when the visitor places their hands inside the frame. It was inspired by lunar light.

Light Sphere I by Tom Wilkinson

This sculpture created a ring of light. I believe that it was meant to create a whole sphere, but I only saw the metal ring with lights. 

Liquid Space 6.1 by Daan Roosegaarde

This interactive installation can detect as people move closer to it and then rotate its mechanical body in their direction. Standing underneath the orb in the centre will make the sculpture move and the lights intensify. It will also make noises. This was a fun sculpture to see its reactions to movement while standing underneath it and to watch how its 'legs' shifted. I also watched another group of people interact with it.

We Could Meet by Martin Richman

This light installation is located in the shallow water below the new Crossrail terminal and consists of blue stalks of light with purple stalks of light on some of the ends. The effect was a little difficult to capture on camera. The artist played with colour perception in this piece to enable the viewer to see how the colours 'change' as they work together.

Aura by Philips Lighting Design

This is an interactive installation that uses light and sound based on user's movements. The type of movements made by the viewer influences the sounds and type of lights emitted onto the screen. I tried a 'scratching' motion with my hands, and this provided a unique sound and light when compared to simply moving my hands back and forth. I also loved the fact that the colours of the lights changed for this installation and at times, more than one colour was projected. I really had a lot of fun with this installation and spent a little time playing with it. 

Lumen Prize Exhibition by Lumen

This is the fourth year of this exhibition, and it features art that has been digitally created around the world. The shortlisted and winning works of art for 2015/2016 are a part of a global tour. After London, they will visit Canada, Shanghai, and New York City.

My Light is Your Light by Alaa Minawi

This sculpture was created by the artist to show solidarity with Syrian refugees. The sculptures portray a family of six fleeing the conflict, and the light symbolises that each has their own story to share. The smallest figure shows a glimmer of hope as it appears to have made a discovery while the others have their heads and postures lowered and pointing in the same direction.

Globoscope by Collectif Coin

This luminous orb light installation can be created to work in different locations. The lights change in a sequence of animations. The animations happen in a random manner and start at different points in the installation. At times, all orbs can light up at once.

The Pool by Jen Lewin Studio

'The Pool' is an interactive environment consisting of circular pads that visitors can walk, run, and jump on. When the pads are walked on, the light changes to a different colour. The lights themselves continuously change colour to a new shade to reflect the mood. When groups of users or individual users interact with it, patterns can be created and the pads seem to anticipate the next point where you will step. This was a fun installation, and I saw others come to the exhibit to enjoy the experience. However, do watch the pads as they are a little uneven and slippery when wet. I had a lot of fun with this one.

On the Wings of Freedom by Aether & Hemera

Flawless by Gonzalo Bascunan & Perrine Vichet

Infinity Pools by Stephen Newby

Totem by Bitone Collective

This sculpture uses mobile phone signals in the air around it to come to life. When these signals get nearer, the lights glow brighter, and a sound is emitted from the sculpture. This sculpture makes those hidden signals around us visible through the light and sound. Watching people walk by the sculpture was fascinating.

Chorus by Ray Lee

Kinetic sound is used in this moving sculptures as the top part of the sculptures roate.

Fantstic Planet by Amanda Parer

One of the most memorable exhibits in Winter Lights is the 18-foot tall lit inflatible human figure. The installation was inspired by the science fiction film "Fantastic Planet" (1973), which is set in a planet of giants. The inflatible appears to have just landed and is curiously looking at the ground (and people) in front of it. In addition, sound plays a part to make this feel a little more 'alien'. 

Bit.Fall by Julius Popp

This water and light sculpture was located in the Olympic Park in 2012 underneath one of the bridges, and I watched it there but never included it in my post. Live news feeds create the words that fall from the source so that the words are formed in mid-air before falling into the dock below. This sculpture attracted a lot of attention, and I also enjoyed watching which words would pop out next.

I visited all thirty of the illuminated art installations in the Lumiere London exhibition last night. Lumiere London is a free-to-visit four-day event held in four main locations in the city of London (Westminster, Soho, Mayfair, and King's Cross). The exhibition started on Thursday night (the 14th of January) and continues until the 17th; Sunday is your last night to see the lights. The lights switch on at 6:30pm and switch off at 10:30pm. Quite a few of these were mesmorising, and I encourage you to see it. However, prepare to dress warmly with gloves and warm coats and comfortable walking shoes as it was so cold on Thursday night and is due to get even colder. Also be prepared for crowds. Thursday night was busy but manageable.

Lumiere London is produced by Artichoke and supported by Mayor of London. Artichoke started Lumiere by bringing it to Durham in 2009; it runs every other year and attendance grows each time. In 2013, it travelled to Londonderry for its City of Culture year. This is the first year it has come to London. It is a welcome event for this time as year as the holiday season has come to an end and there's a lack of colour. I've read somewhere that it's also considered the most depressing time of the year, so an event like this is perfect.

The Light of the Spirit by Patrice Warrener

The Light of the Spirit by Patrice Warrener

My first stop was to Westminster Abbey where I waited as I arrived early. This projection onto the abbey facade illuminates the beautiful architecture that we often do not notice. The colours of the statues are design was constant, but the colours of the abbey on both sides changed from solid colours to different sections in colour, and some of the examples can be seen above. Varying shades of green, blue, pink, purple, red, orange, yellow, and white were projectd onto the abbey and each colour faded into the next.

Plastic Islands by Luzinterruptus

This installation is inspired by the large floating area of debris in the ocean where the ocean's currents have pushed it together. The fountain at Trafalgar Square is transformed into an illuminated floating plastic bottle bin. I think this piece highlights that we need to recycle plastic and consume less.

Neon Dogs by Deepa Mann-Kler

This installation features neon lights in the shape of balloon dogs and bones. It was inspired by the balloons at children's parties and is meant to bring a smile to the viewer's face. I loved the piece, but I was disappointed in the set-up inside the unwashed windows of Coutts Bank on the Strand. The neon dogs were each in one of five panel windows and difficult to see all together. Above is one of the separate panels.

Centre Point Lights

These lights have been removed from the top of the Centre Point building at Tottenham Court Road. People (myself included) have often used this building and those lights to know their location or direction in the city. The lights have only been temporarily removed to show at this exhibition while work is being completed on the building.

Garden of Lights by TILT

This illuminated garden featuring giant flowers and plants of different colours and shapes transforms Leicester Square into a glowing paradise. The reeds around Shakespeare's statue seem like it is a swamp area, and the warm glow of the lights makes winter seem far away. I loved this installation, but the square was so busy and it is difficult to take photographs to show how beautiful it was and how it felt to be there.

Elephantastic! by Topla-design 

This fantastic installation shows an elephant in the archways high above the buildings on the southern end of Regent Street. The elephant moves, stomps to bring dust up, swishes its tail, and raises its trunk to  trumpet. There are additional jungle sounds and sounds of the elephant moving and stomping. On the opposite side of the archway, the back of the elephant can be seen. This projection made it appear that there really was an elephant high up in the archway.

Les Luminéoles by Porté par le vent

Piccadilly Street came to live with these illuminated floating and glowing fish-like creatures. As the three fish were raised and lowered by their handlers, their fins swirled behind them in the air. Glowing lanters also blocked off the area where they could float in the sky. The fish also changed colour from gold to purple to blue to green. In addition, sound was also played along this stretch of the street to set the atmosphere for these luminous creatures. Unfortunately, they were a pain to photograph due to the sheer volume of visitors, street furniture, cables, and the way they moved. I'm sure I could have gotten better photographs if I hung around and waited for the right moment, used other camera settings, and found the right place, though. 

195 Piccadilly by NOVAK

195 Piccadilly by NOVAK

This mural is projected onto the BAFTA building on Piccadilly Street. It features footage of all genres found in the archives. The building was originally the Royal Society of Watercolour Painters, so the animation between images of the actors are done in an artistic way. Sometimes, blocks of colour appear to be 'thrown' onto the canvas that is the building, and these colours 'drip' down, or appear to be painted across the building in long strokes. This is all set to classical music. The above is a small selection of the artwork projected, and this artwork was constantly changing with new 'strokes' being added with new portraits and shapes appearing.

I haven't changed my mind in a thousand years by Beth J. Ross

The text on both sides of the arcade was taken from a book of proverbs that the artist discovered in Durham Cathedral. She had her son rewrite these words before transforming them into neon lights. 

Les Voyageurs (The Travellers) by Cédric Le Borgne

These illuminated human sculptures are located all around St. James' Square. Some are perched on the rooftops of the buildings in the square and others are suspended in mid-air while others appear to be floating or falling from tree branches. I was told by one of the guides that there are eleven of these sculptures to be discovered in the square; I only managed to locate ten. This work encourages visitors to look around them to try to find the illuminated beings.

Aquarium by Benedetto Bufalino & Benoit Deseille

The iconic red telephone box has been transformed into an aquarium. The artists wish us to dream about exotic locations to escape everyday lives. 

Spinning Night in Living Colour by Elaine Buckholtz

This piece is inspired by taking Van Gogh's All Night Café painting and spinning it. Video and light and sound is used to encourage visitors to sit down and look at the colours glow. The installation includes an original sound score by Floor van de Velde and Elaine Buckholtz, and this is based on a slowed-down version of Béla Bartók's Romanian Folk Dance no.3.

Lightbenches by Bernd Spiecker for LBO LichtBankObjekte

The concept of this installation is to create a conversation piece to bring people together. The typical bench and light are combined to create the illuminated bench. The bench changes colour gradually to other colours, such as blue, red, purple, and yellow.

Brothers & Sisters by Ron Haselden

This installation was created based on images of school children from the Isle of Dogs, London. The work grows as it travels to new places and other children are encouraged to contribute it.

Dissect I and Dissect II by Sarah Blood

These illuminated cubes show off the form and space and invite the viewer to climb the stairs to take a look at other illuminated works.

Sanctuary by Sarah Blood

There are twelve of these illuminated birdhouses, from which bird sounds emit. The sounds appear to 'speak' between the different houses. The bird sounds ('caw caw') are created by humans, and the sounds did create some laughter with some other visitors.

Keyframes by Group LAPS

These dancing stick men have a story to tell, and music is used while they climb up and somersault down the facade of the building. They seem to chase each other around the building as they tell their story. This iteration consisted of a little stick man at the bottom jumping up to touch the others and make them disappear, as in a video game, and video game music and noises were included. This was very fun to watch and the crowd seemed pleased.

 
Shaida Walking 2015 by Julian Opie

This new artwork was created to premiere at London Lumiere, and it features a woman walking. The glowing woman is on a pedestal like a statue that appears to move. This work is similar to neon signs but makes the subject appear to be one of us.

London by Janet Echelman 

This is a beautiful installation strung between buildings at Oxford Circus. The net-like sculpture floats above the streets and moves slightly in the breeze, always changing shape slightly. The sculpture also appears completely different from different angles, and it gradually changes colour. This piece was created based on the Japanese tsunami and is built on the model reprsented from NASA data about how Earth's rotation was sped up and how that day was shortened by 1.8 microseconds. The structure is also inspired based on fishing nets used in India. Visitors are encouraged to play with the colours projected onto the piece using technology when they are at the artwork by going to a special WiFi network and typing in a website address.

Platonic Spin by Nathaniel Rackowe

This animated cube animates in three sections. One at a time, each pane lights up until the whole form is lit. It is suspended in mid-air.

Joining the Dots by Cleary Connolly

This illuminated projection actually symbolises the human form as a series of dots showing where the joints would be. The dots move around the building. These are based on actors doing tasks such as running, walking, swimming, and dancing. The viewer is encouraged to determine if they are male or female, young or old. 

IFO (Unidentified Flying Object) by Jacques Rival

IFO (Unidentified Flying Object) by Jacques Rival

This giant birdcage is lit all the way around, and the neon colours gradually circle around and change. Viewers are encouraged to walk inside where there is a swing to swing on. This is a permanent installation. It was initially meant to be raised in the sky on a crane, but it will rest permanently in this square at King's Cross and act as an urban playing area.

Pipette by Miriam Sleeman, Tom Sloan, Allies & Morrison, Spiers + Major

This installation is a permanent one at King's Cross, which is currently being redeveloped. Colours are projected onto an illuminated wall. 

Light Graffiti by Floating Pictures

This interactive artwork combines different colours of light and visitors can 'draw' in the light using a special torch, which acts as a spray can. 

binaryWaves by LAB[au]

This installation is a group of several panels which uses electromagnetic waves from mobile phones and cars to create light out of these waves around us that we normally would not see. The lights continuously change.

Litre of Light by Mick Stephenson

This installation discusses the importance of light and how light can change lives. In developing and war-torn countries, this is a solution that has helped the disadvantage. Creating light using water, a plastic bottle, and a drop of bleach helps to refract the light. This installation shows this in action with members of the team speaking to the visitors about this solution in more detail.

Spectra-3 by FIELD.io

This is a moving installation that combines light and sound. The satellite dish moves 360 degrees, and the mirrors are attached to the front where light is reflected and creates shapes on visitors and the walls and ceiling.

Diver by Ron Haselden

This illuminated diver was inspired by the work of schoolchildren who were asked to draw the Olympic games. The diver takes on different poses before plunging into the pond below. Each pose is lit up as the diver nears the ground, and all figures are illuminated at the end.

Circus of Light by Ocubo

A circus is performed on the side of a building at King's Cross, and the architecture of the building is often used in the circus performance. This piece really made me feel that I was at the circus.

Dresses by Tae Gon Kim

A series of illuminated dresses were placed around Soho and King's Cross. Each one is unique, and they all gradually change colour. Unfortunately, I kept capturing the blue colour, but I saw the dresses appear in all other colours, and they looked stunning.

Candy floss (cotton candy) light sticks were given out for visitors who saw all of the illuminations at King's Cross. Be sure to pick up a paper at the visitor centre. At each attraction, the visitor asks for a stamp so they can claim the free glowing candy floss. I actually did not know about this until I asked someone with one where they got the candy floss from, and they told me. I then convinced the lady inside the centre that I had been to all illuminations at King's Cross (which I had), so I was able to go inside a rave tent where people were dancing and where a lady dressed all in pink was creating the candy floss light sticks. 

I recommend visiting Lumiere London over the next three days. You can also separate the walk into two sections in order to cut down the miles walked and do the walking at a more leisurely pace. You can quite easily see all in an evening, though. If you do want to break it up into two nights, you could see all of the ones in King's Cross on one night and all the ones in Soho/Westminster/Mayfair on another night. All locations have some brilliant not-to-miss pieces. Hopefully this guide can allow you to determine which ones you particularly wish to see.

Sculpture in the City 2015 is a public sculpture trail around London's Square Mile. This is the fifth year of the public art event and features work by artists such as Damien Hirst, Ai Weiwei, Laura Ford, Kris Martin, Folkert de Jong, Tomoaki Suzuki, and others. As last year, workshops are also available to local schools to encourage students to explore and understand art. 

Charity by Damien Hirst

This sculpture was publicised the most last summer because it was based on a real image for Scope charity's collection box, which would have been outside of local shops in the 1960s and 1970s. The sculpture was completed in 2003 and is made of bronze and stands at 22 feet tall. The sculpture was in the news for the portrayal of 'victims' on the collection boxes and political correctness. In addition, this sculpture was made to appear vandalised with the box itself emptied with 'coins' lying on the ground.

Forever by Ai Weiwei

This sculpture is created with rows of similar steel bikes. Looking at the sculpture from different vantage points, and it appears that the sculpture moves. Weiwei is a popular Chinese artist, and the name of the sculpture is the brand of the bicycles that were mass-manufactured in Shanghai since 1940. Nowadays, the bikes are being replaced by cars. I love the sense of movement created by this piece, and it was one of the pieces that I enjoyed photographing and gazing at.

Bells II by Kris Martin

This sculpture is made up of two church bells of the same size that have been joined at the bottom. The significance of the sculpture is that the bells cannot ring as they are closed together. The bells essentially become silenced as they are closed together, and this alters the perception of the object.

Carson, Emma, Takashi, Zezi, Nia  by Tomoaki Suzuki

Suzuki was inspired by Japanese woodcarving to create detailed portraits of miniature diverse youths. These five sculptures have been cast in bronze. Each one is unique and highly-detailed. 

Altar by Kris Martin

This metal sculpture is a replica of the 15th century Ghent Alterpiece (located in Saint Bavo Cathedral) by Jan Van Eych and Hubert, which was central to Renaissance painting. The viewer looks out at the world instead of idealistic painted scenery and religious imagery that would normally be represented inside these panels. Instead, the focus is on life and 'realistic' everyday scenery instead of the ideal.

´O my friends, there are no friends´  by Sigalit Landau

This sculpture is created with bronze shoes and real laces tied together to form a circle. According to the artist, it represents a time of the future when people can put the shoes on to create a better community and a better history. The shoes are tied together and have a sense of belonging. They are tied into a large circle, and all must work together.

Broken Pillar #12 by Shan Hur

This sculpture is a series of work developed. The artist uses found objects relevant to the location of the structure, and places the objects within the pillar. This pillar's location is in St. Helen's Churchyard, and it contains a floral vase inside it.

Days of Judgement - Cats 1 & 2 by Laura Ford

Laura Ford is known for portraying animals with human characteristics. The cats sculptures are made of bronze and her inspiration was Masaccio's fresco "The Expulsion from the Garden of Eden" in Brancacci Chapel in Florence. Adam and Eve are portrayed as cats that seem to be torn apart emotionally in their postures, with featureless faces. 

Breakout II by Bruce Beasley

This sculpture consists of cubic structures placed together in an organic situation with gravity seeming to enforce the shape of the sculpture. The sculpture is created out of bronze. 

Rays (London) by Xavier Veilhan

This sculpture is a part of a series of similar sculptures that allow the viewer to look at new views of the city based on ongoing construction work. The two poles create a skeleton frame which allows the viewer to imagine that they are a new addition to the city and to provide a new relationship to the buildings and other objects around them.

Red Atlas by Ekkehard Altenburger

This sculpture is a part of a series of sculptures that relate to balance. The artist has used architectural elements in other sculptures in the series to achieve this. This black and gold sculpture is propped up against a wall, seeminlgy held up by its own weight. 

Organisms of Control #8 by Keita Miyazaki

This aculpture is based on a series that view a new vision of Japan from the rubble of the earthquake and tsunami. The sculpture is created with old car parts and the sculpture makes sound, inspired by the tunes played in the Tokyo public transport and in Japanese shops.

Ghost by Adam Chodzko

This is a sculpture of a kayak hanging above Leadenhall Market. The sculpture has been used all over the UK and ferries a passenger on a journey while recording it the memory. The artwork was created in 2010 and has travelled in Kent, Devon, Olympic Park, and Newcastle.  

Old DNA by Folkert de Jong

Artist de Jong created this sculpture using a 3D scan of armour that belonged to Henry VIII. The sculpture represents decay and how power/strength can decay over time. 

The sculptures are on display until May 2016 before they are replaced with new sculptures that will be on display until next May.

Previous years of London's Sculpture in the City are included below:

• Sculpture in the City 2014
• Sculpture in the City 2013

I spent New Year's Day walking around London on a guided tour to track down the seven noses of Soho. The tours to see the Seven Noses of Soho are held a few times throughout the year by qualified guide Peter Berthoud, and the tours are small in size (a maximum of ten people) to allow everyone to mingle, and we were lucky to be in a nice group. The Seven Noses tour on New Year's Day is special in that it also includes stops at various pubs that have decided to open on the day. Viewing the seven noses is also meant to bring infinite wealth, but the wealth may not include money; it may be in the form of money, happiness, health, love, cats, or something else.

Many myths have surrounded the noses before learning in 2011 who the artist was and why they were placed on the walls. The artist is Rick Buckley, and in 1997, he added around 35 noses to buildings in London, including high-profile buildings such as South Bank Centre, the Tate, and National Gallery. The noses are a cast of his own and created with Plaster of Paris and polymer and usually painted to match the wall placed on. The reason for them is that the artist saw them as a form of silent protest against the increase of CCTV cameras; he wanted to see if he could add them without being caught. Essentially, they are a form of street art, such as Space Invader or Gregos's masks.

Today, only about ten of the noses exist. Seven of these are located in (or near) Soho, and there's also meant to be one at St. Pancras, two at Hayward Gallery, and one at South Bank walkway. We saw the seven original ones by Rick Buckley around Soho, an ear, and a bonus nose that has nothing to do with Rick Buckley. 

The most famous nose is located on the Admirality Arch, and the myth was that it was modelled on Napoleon's and rubbed by horse-riders for good luck. This one is commonly known, but I am going to keep the other locations secret. You'll just have to go on the tour.

The first sculpture that we spotted was the ear on the side of a building. This was put up by Tim Fishlock. There are a few more ear sculptures around London.

We were also provided with chocolates to begin our walking tour.

On the tour, we came across a sculpture set into the side of a building. We were told that these are from the London Guild (livery company) of Mercers (traders). They had a similar sculpture (called Mercers' Maidens) on each of their buildings.

Around the corner was our first pub visit, the Cross Keys. I've been to this pub before, but it was packed. When we visited, it was virtually empty. We were able to sit at a table and have drinks and chat. The pub is decorated for the holidays, and we saw items signed by the Beatles and Elvis hanging on the wall.

We then came across the bonus nose in Soho. This is not one of the original noses by Buckley. In fact, we were told that the person behind this nose was on one of the other tours. The nose was placed on the wall because of a dispute with the council over building work. 

After hunting down more noses and being disappointed by a lot of pubs being shut that we'd hoped to visit, we eventually ended up next to Liberty Department store where it was quite busy. However, we managed to have a 'standing' drink and chat in The Clachan.

Some of the pubs we visited had specialist ales and other drinks and they're perfect for a quick stop and to try something different. Unfortunately, I'm not a drinker of ale/beer/cider, so these eludes me a bit. But if you are a drinker of these, then you won't be disappointed. I did, however, have a glass of fizz.

After walking further and seeing more noses, we ended up in Tom Cribb pub. This pub is named after a boxer and contained a lot of specialist drinks.

The tour ended near Trafalgar Square, but a few of us headed off to Walkers Wine & Ale Bar not far away. There was a lot of room in the basement of the bar, and we were able to chat longer before heading home.

We really enjoyed our tour around London to the pubs and to see the Seven Noses of Soho and I recommend it. For more information about this tour, other London tours, and to book the tour, view the EventBrite page here: http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/discovering-london-with-peter-berthoud-2311088161

Each year for the past few years, Lego have created sculptures made out of its famous plastic bricks for the holidays and have placed the sculptures at Covent Garden. Last year's Lego sculpture featured Santa and his reindeer in a sleigh. Visitors could sit inside the sleigh and have their photographs taken and were encouraged to use social media to upload them.

This year's Lego sculpture is similar and also encourages visitors to get their photographs to upload to social media. The sculpture features a train pulling a Christmas tree and other various gifts. Visitors can sit in the front of the train and upload their photographs using #LEGOSantaExpress. This year's sculpture took three months and 500,000 plastic bricks to build.

Previous years of Christmas-themed sculptures built using Lego in Covent Garden included a large snowglobe filled with London monuments made from Lego that visitors could walk through and a large Lego advent calendar which was opened daily to reveal a new surprise.  

The Lego Santa Express is on display in Covent Garden until 29 December, so check it out while you can.

Those looking for a souvenir of London may be interested in Katie Bonham's sculptures of clay and brick houses using bricks and clay found in the Thames.The artist finds these items in the Thames and turns them into beautiful sculptures, such as miniature clay and brick houses and buildings as seen below.

Photoraph from Katie Bonham

While visiting the London Museum a couple of years ago to see the Cheapside Hoard (which I blogged about here), a few of these beautiful clay buildings were on sale, and I bought one. It's my very own piece of London symbolising London's history in a souvenir form.

For more information about the artist, visit http://katiebonham.artweb.com/thames/209955_london-re-built-.html

Joan Miró was a painter and sculpture from Spain. The sculptures he created were from objects that he discovered, and he was also fond of using natural objects and sensual shapes. These were nearly always cast in bronze, but some of them have been painted in bright colours. The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam currently has twenty of these sculptures on display around its gardens, and they are on display until the end of September.

The two largest sculptures are located in the fountain in a prime view in front of the Rijksmuseum. They are actually by artist KAWS.

Miro's sculptures are abstract, and he used a lot of circular and feminine shapes. In some cases, such as the above sculptures, the objects can look like a bird or a woman.

The above sculpture consists of objects that Miro discovered on walks: an ironing board, donkey's straw sunhat, a turtle shell, and a toilet seat. These were assembled to have a feminine appearance and painted in bright colours.

Miro would often use objects discovered to create artwork. In the case of the sculpture above, the bottom part was created from an almond shell, which he enlarged and created with plaster. The 'head' is made from a pebble, which was similarly enlarged. These were then covered in bronze.

The below sculpture was created with mannequin legs and a tap.

The sculptures can be on display until the end of September around the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

Miffy is a rabbit character based on a book by an author from the Netherlands, Dick Bruna. He wrote the first Miffy book in 1955. Miffy is sixty years old this year. To celebrate Miffy's 60th birthday, the Miffy Art Parade sculptures are available to view in a few areas of the Netherlands and in Tokyo, Japan. The partnership charity is UNICEF.  A few of these Miffy sculptures were available to view outside of the museums (the Van Gogh and Rijksmuseum) in Amsterdam. These were extremely popular with tourists. A Miffy Parade shop had also set up in a kiosk near the sculptures.

The Miffy Parade statues are only on display for a limited time, and I believe that they will be removed early this month.

The 'Shaun in the City' event in Bristol this year was the event that I have been looking forward to since I heard rumours about it taking place after the success of the Gromit Unleashed sculpture trail two years ago. (You can read about that trail and see photographs of Gromit Unleashed here and here.) This spring, a separate set of 'Shaun the Sheep' sculptures visited London, and I went to locate them. Between both London and Bristol, there were 120 Shaun sculptures to be discovered.

Dolly - Julie Vernon

Similar to the Gromit Unleashed trail and the 'Shaun in the City' trail in London this spring, the sculptures raise funds for charities, such as "The Grand Appeal" Bristol Children's Hospital, and "Wallace & Gromit's Children's Charity". The event is organised by Aardman Animations, who created the character 'Shaun the Sheep' for its stop-animation films and television series.

Detail 'On the Waterfront' - Abigal McDougall

Shaun first made his appearance in 'Wallace & Gromit: A Close Shave', and he now has his own television series and film. The sculpture trail this year coincided with the release of the film in cinemas and the Chinese New Year as the 'Year of the Sheep'.

Shaun Bean - Nigel Leach

We were a little disappointed that there was not a 'Build your Shaun' out of plasticine class this year at @Bristol, like there was a 'Build your own Gromit' two years ago that we enjoyed.

Flock and Roll - Carys-ink

A few of my favourite photographs are below.

Jarzberry Ram - Simon Tozer

Sgt. Shepherd - The Shaun in the City Team

Lotus - Richard Starzak

Bahhbersheep - Gav Strange

Willow - Rhiannon Southwell

The Bristol Express - Tim Sutcliffe

Sheepish - Wayne Hemingway

Honey - Amy Timms

Wooly Wonderland - Vicky Harrison

Lamb Chop - Duncan Craig

Baaack to the Drawing Board - Nick Park

Flock and Roll - Carys-ink

The Shear Speed Helter Skelter - Gav Strange

Baa-lloon! - Jenny Urquhart

From Dusk 'Til Shaun - Sneaky Raccoon

Justice Lamb - Mike Ogden

Beach Boy - Mike Ogden

Rex- Beth Waters

Shaun Muffin from hotel in Clifton

Shaun cookie

Two Hoots - Maria Burns

Shaun Romanus - Ian Marlow

There's not much time left to see the Shaun the Sheep sculpture trail in Bristol as it ends on the 31st of August, which is next weekend.

If I could move anywhere in the United Kingdom (without having to worry about a job), I would move to Salisbury. (However, I also like the Cotswolds, so that's a contender.) I fell in love with Salisbury in 2000, when a past boyfriend took me there to visit as he lived down the road in the New Forest and his parents worked in Salisbury; Salisbury was their nearest big city and the closest with a train station, and I'd find myself traveling down on the train from London on Friday evenings to see him every other weekend. I also worked there for a few months. I've visited the town now and again over the course of the last decade, so when I learned about the Baron's Charter sculpture trail last year, I knew that I'd be paying the city another visit this summer.

MC 800 Baron - Mark Elling

The Baron's Charter sculpture trail consists of 25 painted sculptures in the shape of a baron. They commemorate 800 years since the signing of the Magna Carta (1215), a set rules/laws for society of that time, which influences current civilisation. Salisbury Cathedral displays one of the remaining signed Magna Carta documents. Only four of these are in existance today, and the others can be seen at Lincoln and the British Library. 

The Magna Carta Baron - Donald Brown

The trail is on display until the 6th of September. After it finished, the barons will be auctioned off for charity Trussell Trust, to provide food for those who need it. Below are photographs of the barons from the sculpture trail. 

Stained Glass Flower Baron - Louise Luton

Salisbury Market Baron - Lee O'Brien

Stonehenge Winter Solstice Druid - Mandii Pope 

Traditional Tribal Baron - Jake Cook

The Salisbury Baron - Jodie Silverman

Discworld Knight - Paul Kidby

Astro Baron - Jenny Leonard

Quintessentially British - David Graham

Baron Button - Laura Fearn

Additionally, we happened to visit Salisbury during an archaeology event. We were able to go into the Salisbury Museum, which has gotten larger since my last visit and is well-worth a visit with a large selection of prehistorical items. I'll be posting more on Salisbury at some point, but we saw some archaeologists that have been on television. I heard a thick Somerset accent (I used to work near Bristol) and the bloke recognised Phil Harding, who has been on Time Team and other shows. I took a sneaky few photographs. 

Phil Harding from Time Team and other programmes

The Baron's Charter sculpture trail will be in place until 6 September, so do go and see the sculptures. They are all within walking distance of each other and are centrally-based. (There are two that are accessible from the centre for those who wish to walk a little further.) For more information, visit: http://www.thebaronscharter.org.uk

Earlier this year, a new art installation came to Soho Square. The pigeons came to the square as part of an art exhibition (Sim Smith Gallery) by House of Barnabos charity for a festival to be held between July 31 and August 3 this year. They symbolise homelessness. The neon-coloured pigeons are located throughout the square and can be seen on the light posts and signs. Unfortunately, a few of the pigeons have now been stolen when I visited them a few weeks ago.

The name of the installation is "Unexpected Guests". Pigeons were banned from Trafalgar Square over a decade ago now, and I think that many find them troublesome. Below are a few photographs that I took on my visit.

I also caught a real-life pigeon. Quite a few of them were hanging around Soho Square when I visited. 

The pigeons probably will not be around for much longer; I think that they were initially going to be in place for three months. Many of them have already been stolen, which is a pity because they are meant to be auctioned for the charity to help the homeless.

One of the difficulties with not working or living in London at the moment is that I'm unable to do or see much in London unless I've got some free time on the weekend. Hence why this post is delayed, but it's better late than never as I just finished seeing all of the 'Shaun the Sheep' charity art sculptures that have been around London this spring. For those who are unaware, 'Shaun the Sheep' is an animated (stop motion) film for children by Aardman Studios, who famously brought us 'Wallace and Gromit'. 'Shaun the Sheep' is primarily geared at younger children.

Chelsea Pen-Shaun-er - The Chelsea Pensioner

After the success of the 'Gromit Unleashed' art charity sculpture trail two years ago in Bristol ('Gromit Unleashed' in Bristol, Part 1 and 'Gromit Unleashed' in Bristol, Part 2), which raised money for charities such as Bristol Children's Hospital, I had heard rumours that same year that they may be bringing 'Shaun the Sheep' to the streets in a couple of years, although this was never confirmed when I asked about it on Twitter. The 'Gromit Unleashed' art sculpture trails were possibly inspired by Wow! Gorillas in Bristol, which took the city by storm two years prior, and based on Bristol's positive response to this, a void needed to be filled.

Lenny - Vivi Cuevas

Now, I mentioned the rumours about the 'Shaun the Sheep' trail. The trail was officially announced last summer, and I was excited about the news. I loved finding the Gromits in Bristol two years ago. With his news came the news that there would be two sculpture trails this year with different sculptures in London and in Bristol.

The Guardian - Vivi Cuevas

The 'Shaun the Sheep' trail is part of the marketing campaign for the 'Shaun the Sheep' film, which was released in the cinema at about the same time as the trail. This year is also the Chinese 'Year of the Sheep'. We did see the 'Shaun the Sheep' film at the cinema when it was released. 

Br-ewe-nel - Brunel University

The first trail for the 'Shaun the Sheep' (known as 'Shaun in the City', which is similar to what happens in the film when the sheep have to make a journey to the big city) takes place in London throughout the spring. The London trail was launched at the end of March and has been extended until May 31st so that more people could enjoy them. Half-term week is coming up, so more children could enjoy the trails, especially if they are traveling from other places in the UK. In the summer, a different set of 'Shaun the Sheep' sculptures will be in Bristol, and I've already booked my hotel for a mini-break in Bristol. There will be 120 unique sculptures across both cities.

Yeoman of the Baaard - Vivi Cuevas

This year, the charities being raised for are various children charities, such as the children's hospitals. In the autumn, the sculptures will be auctioned for charity.

Petal - Emily Ketteringham

An official app, which can be purchased (for a donation), can be bought for Apple or Android devices, and this is a wonderful little app. The app includes aspects of gamification where users can unlock trophies during their trek across London, and trophies are awarded for discovering and completing the various trails or visiting other locations or spinning around on the spot (with GPS turned on). The app has a map, so sheep that you are close to can be marked off. Information about each sheep sculpture and the artist or sponsor is also included in the app. 

To Sheep Perchance to Dream - One Red Shoe

During the first weekend of the 'Shaun in the City' trail in London, I completed the two trails in west London and also discovered the sheep that had become 'separated' from the flock at Paddington and Canary Wharf. The trails are all named after charatcers in the 'Shaun the Sheep' animations. The two trails in west London took in locations around Buckingham Palace, Covent Garden, Leicester Square, Piccadilly Circus, Chinatown, Trafalgar Square, Carnaby Street, and Regent Street. 

Golden Fleece - Nigel Leach

We could have completed all of the trails, but I did not want us to both be too tired out, and I decided that we could come back at another time. The weekend day that the bloke and I did have free and I did plan to visit ended up being the day of the London Marathon, and the streets with the trails we needed to see were due to be closed. That brings us to last Sunday when we could both go into London in order to finish off the trail, and lucikly, none of the ones we wanted to see were taken off the street for repairs (some of the parents are not considerate or responsible and let their offspring sit on and pick at the sculptures, which does damage them). The bloke really wanted to sleep in, but I did force him to go out because I wanted to make sure that we finished all of the trails. Actually, I'd have done both of these trails in the initial launch week during my lunch break had I still been working in London. D'oh!

Rule Britannia - Steve Antony

The final two trails took us around the oldest part of London, the City. Famous landmarks around the trails included St. Paul's Cathedral, Millennium Bridge, Shakespeare's Globe, the Tate, Tower Bridge, Tower of London, Leadenhall Market, and Liverpool Street.

Baa-Bushka - Rachel Shilston

The photographs in this post are some of my favourite sculptures or photographs that turned out well. This is a selection of what you can expect to find.

A Capital View - Laura Cramer

Candy Baa - Emily Golden

Another One Rides the Bus - Susan Donna Webber

Br-ewe-nel - Brunel University

The Gruffalo Shaun - Axel Scheffler

Happy & Glorious - Vivi Cuevas

Me llamo Shaun- Edgar Orlaineta

Robo-Shaun - Tim Sutcliffe

Mossy Bottom - Sylvia Bull and Woolly Jumbo - Joseph Dunmore

Monsters! - Chris Riddell

Jingtai - Simon Farrell

Lambmark Larry - Jenny Urquhart

Globetrotter - Sarah Matthews

Mittens - Simon Tofield

Out of this World - Josh & Aimee Williams

Liberty Bell - Liberty Bell; Shaun-Xiao - Stephen Taylor; Ruffles - Deborah Wilding; Hamish - Ros Franklin; Sheep Shape & Bristol Fashion - Gavin Strange; Fine & Gandy - David Gandy; Literary Lamb - PJ Crook; Pinky Plum - Roksanda Ilincic

Nelson - Benjamin Cox & Vojtech Dvorak

If you wish to visit the London trails, you do not have long now. For those that have missed it, fret not - new sculptures will be visiting Bristol this summer. For more information on the trails, artists, charities, visit http://www.shauninthecity.org.uk

Early last year, I had fun discovering as many colourful masks pasted up on various walls throughout London as I could. These colourful masks are made by French artist Gregos, whose work is popular in Paris. Last year's masks are covered here: Street Art Masks by Gregos. The masks feature the artist's face with different poses. Many of the masks from early last year are now gone, so I was happy to see that the artist returned this spring and left more masks for me to discover. I discovered some last week before meeting up with ex-colleagues, and I returned last weekend to locate as many as I could.

Last spring, there were approximately fifty masks, and this year, there are the same number, according to the artist's Facebook page. I did not find fifty as several have been stolen, and I could see where they should have been from other photographs on the artist's Facebook page and by looking at the location to see the glue where they would have been. Some are also located in Camden, but I did not get to go there.

To see more work by Gregos, visit his Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Gregos-Art/118749327867?fref=ts 

Over the past few months, I discovered some new and older street art little pig sculptures by artist Love Piepenbrinck around London. These are always unexpected and bring a smile to my face. One cute one is a pig-tiger lurking in a corner near Spitalfields. More photographs of the artist's work can be seen in my entry: Street Art: Love Piepenbrinck - Jenikya's Blog

I was very pleased to discover the location of the piggie advent calendar from Christmas 2013. I thought that I knew the location when I saw the photographs appearing on the artist's Facebook page, but I was incorrect and I only discovered the actual location last spring. Unfortunately, only a few of the 24 pigs remained. And there is one less now as I discovered one of them was lying on the groud and looking very sad so I took it to my desk at work to look after (after receiving permission from the artist). Perhaps I can get some glue from somewhere and paste it back up on the streets for others to enjoy.

Sometimes I just discover a new one when I am not expecting it, such as the one covered in fabric balls. Other times, it takes a new piece of artwork to paint around the pig in order for me to see it, such as the old flowery one.

I published the following in another enty, and I was lucky to capture them before they were too weathered and/or stolen. It seems that a lot of these get stolen because I see them posted by other street art enthusiasts and recognise the location, but before I am able to snap my own photograph, they have gone walkabout. My favourite has to be the patchwork one below.

Have you spotted any of these around London's streets?

Recently, the large blue rooster that stood atop of the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square over the past eighteen months has been taken down. It was replaced earlier this month with Gift Horse, a statue that looks like the skeleton of a horse. A stock market ticker tape is placed around the horse's leg, tied like a bow. The piece was created by Hans Haacke, a German-American artist.

To me, the piece seems to symbolise the greed of the country (through banks and the government). It's appropriate in today's world as I'm continuously reading about the election, profits, and how the average person is still feeling the 'pinch' as prices (especially for housing) spiral out of control into the unobtainable. 

The piece is not as colourful as the large blue cock, and I feel that it's more of a statement piece. A little over a year ago, it was decided by public vote amongst five other entries (which I covered in another post), to next grace the Fourth Plinth for the next eighteen months. 

Have you been to see "Gift Horse" yet, and what are your impressions of it?

Street artist Crisp, originally from Australia, is not a stranger to London. He's currently based in Colombia, but he visited London recently and pasted up some tribal masks in east London. I managed to photograph several of these on my various walks around east London. Masks do seem to be a popular subject in street art in the past year; French street artist Gregos pasted some masks up early last year, and Yazz did the same at the end of the summer.

Apologies for the poor photographs of the artwork below. I only had my mobile phone with me on the days that I walked around to take the photographs as my standard compact camera has fluff inside the lens. The image above is taken with my Leica, but it's a little too large to lug about on a daily basis.  

Crisp's masks are tribal-inspired with black line patterns and bright colours. 

I recognised some of his stencil work from a few years ago now, which normally feature social and/or political messages. If I am correct, I don't think the artist produced any art in London since 2012.

View Crisp's photostream here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/67908889@N05/
Official website: http://www.crispstreetart.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Crispstreetart

The ArcelorMittal Orbit is an 115-metre tall architectual sculpture (tower) that was designed by Anish Kapoor. It is located in London's Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in the Stratford area of east London, and it was built in 2012 for the Olympic games. The sculpture gets its name from the steel company, AcelorMittal, because they funded part of the cost. The sculpture tower closed after the Olympic Games (due to the land around it and temporary buildings being cleared) but reopened in the spring of 2014.

AcelorMittal Orbit

The sculpture is meant to be viewed at different angles. From the ground, each angle of the sculpture looks a little different as the red steel winds its way up the central column. When I first saw a photograph of this, it reminded me of a theme park ride.

ArcelorMittal in Olympic Park 

During the Olympic Games, I could have got tickets for the Orbit as I saw them available, but I did not have tickets to the Olympic Park at the time. Then, tickets to the Olympic park became available, and the Orbit tickets for the same day were no longer available. D'oh!

Top observation area

We arrived at the tower and admired the view of it. While on our way to the lift to the top, we were told about the large steel 'bell' at the bottom of the structure and how it was meant to look 'rusty' and imposing. After admiring the size of it, we took the lift up to the top to the top-most observation deck.

We saw views over the City of London and the Shard.

Olympic Stadium

We saw views of the main Olympic Stadium and could see inside it where construction vehicles and diggers were doing some work. I could imagine what it would be like on top of this sculpture during the Olympic Games and the views inside the stadium. The atmosphere was amazing during the Olympic Games, and the park was so busy. It's now only a shadow of its former glory with empty land and construction vehicles dotted around.  

View of the City

Looking east, we saw new flat developments. The colourful ones were built as accommodation for the athletes but have been sold as flats to Londoners.

The Aquatics Stadium is located just to the north with the large shopping mall, Westfield Stratford, behind it and off to the side.

Aquatics

After spending our time looking around and admiring the view, we decided to leave the tower via the staircase that winds slowly down the sculpture. After each few steps, we were treated to a different soundscape as we descended. The soundscapes included the Orbit under construction at various points in time, a nature reserve, Columbia Road Sunday flower market, Brick Lane's Sunday market, Bow bells, and sounds from Whitechapel Bell Foundry.

Descending the Orbit

I visited ArcelorMittal Orbit on the day that the London Bus charity sculptures for 'Year of the Bus' were on display in the Olympic Park, so I got a photograph of some of these buses on the bridge as I descended the Orbit.

'Year of the Bus' sculptures

I got a final photograph of the Orbit with a hazey January sun in the background.

Have you been to the AcelorMittal Orbit? Were you lucky enough to visit it during the Olympics? Apparently four proposals happened on the top of the tower, and three of these were during the Olympics. This year, you can also absail down the tower.