Thar she rises! Bump on the beach arrives as Damien Hirst’s 65ft statue of a pregnant woman is hoisted upright in Iflracombe. But awesome or an eyesore?

By ANTHONY BOND

Standing tall: Damien Hirst's 67-foot bronze statue of a pregnant woman - called Verity - looks out over the sea from Ilfracombe, Dorset

It would be fair to say that modern art isn't everybody's cup of tea.
And it seems this is particularly the case in the seaside town of Ilfracombe, Devon.
A controversial Damien Hirst statue of a pregnant woman wielding a sword was erected in the quaint town today. And it led to extremely mixed reviews from the locals.

Night and day: Hirst has loaned the collosus to Ilfracombe, where it will stand for the next 20 years

The 67ft bronze sculpture, called Verity, was put up on the pier at 3pm, after Hirst loaned the piece to the town for 20 years.
It was installed on the harbour, with full planning permission from North Devon Council, despite 100 letters of objection.
Verity, described by Hirst as a 'modern allegory of truth and justice', carries the scales of justice and is standing on a plinth of law books.

Controversial: Since it was erected on Tuesday, the statue has attracted widely mixed reviews from the locals

The naked pregnant figure holds a sword and has part of her anatomy exposed - a baby visible in the womb.
Locals have been divided by the sculpture - with some branding it 'ugly' and others praising it as a new initiative to boost tourism.
The giant statue had been waiting in the town since the early hours of Monday morning - when it arrived on the back of a truck - for good weather.

Feat of engineering: It took cranes and heavy lifting gear to move the 25-tonne bronze into place

Today, Verity was erected in the town, where Hirst lives and owns a restaurant, at 3pm.
Mike Edmunds, councillor at North Devon Council, from Ilfracombe, said he saw the controversial statue as a way of boosting tourism.
He said: 'We need to have a second string to our bow.



source: dailymail
You have read this article News Update with the title Thar she rises! Bump on the beach arrives as Damien Hirst’s 65ft statue of a pregnant woman is hoisted upright in Iflracombe. But awesome or an eyesore?. You can bookmark this page URL http://elachelle89.blogspot.com/2012/10/thar-she-rises-bump-on-beach-arrives-as.html. Thanks!
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...