Stonehenge coming to East Ham

by Kay Atwal, Chief Reporter Saturday, July 7, 2012
10:00 AM

Stonehenge is coming to East Ham - at least the inflatable version created by a Turner Prize winning artist.

The work, called Sacrilege, by Jeremy Deller will arrive in Newham in August as part of a national tour and 2012 celebrations.

The work is a co-commission between Glasgow International Festival of Visual Art and the Mayor of London, and was enormously popular when it appeared in Glasgow earlier this year.

Jeremy Deller said: “A lot of my work deals with history, and Sacrilege is no exception, this is a way to get reacquainted with ancient Britain with your shoes off.”

In London, Sacrilege is being presented by the Mayor of London and the London 2012 Festival. Its first appearance in the capital will be at Central Park in Greenwich to coincide with Create 2012 in east London. In Newham the work will be at Central Park, East Ham on August 7.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “You don’t have to be a specialist in ancient British history or an acolyte of the summer solstice ritual to be aware of the unending fascination that Stonehenge continues to inspire around the world. Jeremy Deller’s Sacrilege is a wonderfully witty, quite literal leap into that history and a fantastic example of the irreverence that are hallmarks of our great British humour and our incomparable artists. I have no doubt it will be a great hit with Londoners as well as visitors to the capital.”

Ruth Mackenzie, Director, London2012 Festival, said: ‘Jeremy Deller’s life-sized inflatable replica of Stonehenge popping up in National Botanic Garden in Carmarthenshire will be a fantastic opening event for the London 2012 Festival in Wales. The work embodies many of the values of the London 2012 Festival – it is a once in lifetime event, it is a remarkable piece of art by a world renowned artist, and it is free for everyone to enjoy.”

For more details go to www.sacrilege2012.co.uk