Two tours today on a wet, wild and windy Cambridge! While biking home this evening my attention was caught by a row of contemporary sculptures along the river bank at King’s College. Not a great photo I know but the what a sight to behold, especially with a real live cow in the foreground! Cambridge, always full of surprises.
Further investigation reveals that the 10 pieces are reinterpretations of the “Queen’s Beasts” created by Tom Hiscocks. The original “Queen’s Beasts” were stone statues at the entrance to Westminster Abbey for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth 11 on June 2nd. , 60 years ago. Hiscocks idea was to free these beasts from their formal stone and, to achieve this, he decided to use recycled and scrap metal. The beasts, including The Lion of England, The Griffin of Edward 111, The Red Dragon of Wales are all symbols associated with the various Kings and Queens of the past. Hope to grab a closer look before this travelling exhibition moves on in celebration of the Diamond Jubilee.