Saatchi Gallery Presents Engagement Sculpture Over Royal Wedding Weekend
LONDON, April 26, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- From Thursday 28 until sundown Saturday 30 April (with press opportunities from Wednesday afternoon), those Londoners not invited to Westminster Abbey can console themselves by taking part in a special project hosted by The Saatchi Gallery. Taking place over the Royal Wedding Weekend, Londoners and tourists alike can momentarily step into Kate Middleton's boots: trying on the iconic engagement ring and posing alongside a life-sized wax model of Prince William.
"Engagement (with Prince William sculpted by Daniel Druet)" by acclaimed American artist Jennifer Rubell will be displayed for the public to interact with under the covered portico of the gallery at the nobly titled Duke of York Square.
Realising anew the traditional genre of Royal portraiture Rubell here presents a minutely detailed, life-sized wax model of Prince William. William stands in the exact stance seen in coverage of the engagement announcement, dressed in his Savile Row suit, Churches brogues and Omega Seamaster wristwatch. Missing from the scene is his fiancée, but her iconic sapphire and diamond engagement ring remains behind attached to his forearm. The public are invited to step up onto the plinth, link arms with the sculpture and experience their own Prince Charming fantasy.
The ensuing picture of royalty and its subject rests somewhere between an official portrait and seaside entertainment. An illustration of democracy or an encapsulation of the contemporary monarch (and monarch's spouse): the sculpture invites the public to play a part in this historic moment of public celebration.
NOTES TO EDITOR
Jennifer Rubell (b. 11 June 1970) is widely recognised for a series of large-scale 'food installations' which have been exhibited in numerous museums around the world, including the Saatchi Gallery (London), the LA County Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum, the National Portrait Gallery (Washington) and the Rubell Family Collection (Miami).
The replica ring was made by London jeweller Karlin Anderson. It follows the exact design of the iconic ring that first belonged to Princess Diana which was composed of an oval sapphire stone weighing 18 carats and surrounded by 14 small diamonds in an elegant cluster.
The work will be on display from Thursday 28 - Saturday 30 April, at The Saatchi Gallery:
Opening hours:
10am-6pm, last entry 5:30pm
Address: Duke of York's HQ King's Road London SW3 4SQ
For further press information and images, please contact: Alice Walters Stephen Friedman Gallery alice@stephenfriedman.com +44(0)20-7494-1434
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