Still Water (sculpture)

Summary

Still Water is a 2011 outdoor bronze sculpture of a horse's head by Nic Fiddian-Green, located at Achille's Way in London, United Kingdom.

Still Water
The sculpture in 2011
Map
ArtistNic Fiddian-Green
Year2011 (2011)
TypeSculpture
MediumBronze
SubjectHorse
Dimensions10 m (33 ft)
LocationAchille's Way, London, England
Coordinates51°30′46″N 0°09′35″W / 51.51286°N 0.15961°W / 51.51286; -0.15961

The sculpture was initially installed in Marble Arch in London. The work remains owned by the artist, on loan to the Westminster City Council.

As inspiration for the work, the Marble Arch Partnership explains that the artist's 'passion for the equine head began in 1983 as a student at Chelsea College of Arts when he was sent on a visit to the British Museum to seek inspiration. He encountered the Elgin Marbles and was struck by the horse of Selene, a remarkably well preserved fifth-century BC carving, which would become the foundational inspiration throughout his career.'

Fiddian Green later reflected that “capturing the skill, vitality, balance and beauty, so evident in these Greek carvings is my continued aim”. The artist works in clay, plaster, beaten lead and marble, and oversees the casting of the sculpture into bronze himself.

The 33 feet (10 m) piece was commissioned to replace an earlier and similar, but slightly smaller, work, Horse at Water XV temporarily installed on the site in 2001. That earlier work was moved to Daylesford, Gloucestershire, the home of Sir Anthony and Lady Carole Bamford, who had commissioned it.[1][2]

In 2012, Fiddian-Green cleaned the sculpture himself, using a cherry picker.[3]

In May 2021, the work was moved to its current location in Achille’s Way, near Hyde Park Corner, London.

Trivia edit

In 2020, Syria installed a similar sculpture in Rawda Square, Damascus.[4]

In the centre of At-Bashy village in Kyrgyzstan the small copy is located by local community as the name of the At-Bashy village is literally translated as “horse’s head” in one of the versions.[citation needed]

References edit

  1. ^ Bridgewater, Daisy (6 June 2013). "Interiors: Nic Fiddian-Green's idyllic family home". Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 June 2013. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  2. ^ "Surrey". Countryfile. 12 January 2014. BBC.
  3. ^ "Still Water at Marble Arch". Marble Arch London. 11 August 2020.
  4. ^ "US-Sanctioned Syrian Businessman Brings Back 'British Statue' to Damascus". aawsat.com. 24 September 2020.

External links edit

  •   Media related to Still Water sculpture at Wikimedia Commons
  • Still Water at NicFiddianGreen.com
  • What to see near Marble Arch: a guide to London by tube (2013), The Guardian