'Penny The Orangutan' Chosen For Chiswick's '4th Plinth'
Public voted for artwork with conservation theme for Turnham Green Piazza wall
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The new artwork for 'Chiswick's Fourth Plinth ' is Penny The Orangutan, a work by David Kimpton and Richard Lawton, which is comprised entirely of pennies, and which cost £20 to create. The artwork was created to raise funds for conservation of the endangered species in Sumatra.
After an unveiling ceremony by Rebecca Frayn, David Kimpton explained that Indonesian rainforests are being cleared to create palm oil plantations.
"Our artwork was created to raise funds for the Sumatran Orangutan Society, whose message is ‘every penny counts’ in the fight to save the endangered animals and their environment."
Richard and David decided to create the work out of real pennies instead of a digitally-created image. It was designed by Richard, and directed by David. They bought 2,000 pennies from the bank, and sorted them into seven shades of copper ranging from very bright and shiny, to very dark, with the help of some chemicals. The artwork was assembled over several days in their studio at Barley Mow. It has since been auctioned off at a fundraising event where it sold for over £3,000 to help the charity orangutans-sos.org.
The new occupant of the wall was unveiled by Rebecca Frayn, local filmmaker and novelist, at a ceremony on the Turnham Green Piazza. Leader of Hounslow Council Steve Curran attended as did Cllr John Todd and many other local residents. There was mulled cider, courtesy of the Cookbook Festival, and pizza bites from Pizza Treat.
Karen Liebreich, Rebecca Frayn, and David Kimpton
Voting had been underway for the last few weeks to choose the second artwork to grace the wall, and Karen Liebreich of Abundance revealed that there had been a great response from the public with 1,400 votes, and it was a very close result.
The W4th Plinth artspace was launched by Abundance London in September 2019, taking its name from the Trafalgar Square 4th plinth of rotating artworks.
Sir Peter Blake's Chiswick Empire Theatre held the stage for the first 6 months, and the position will rotate.
Happily the Empire Theatre work has been requested by the Victoria & Albert Museum which is currently deciding where it will be located.
Karen Liebreich said: "We had 31 submissions, of very high quality and it was a difficult decision. A panel led by Sir Peter Blake selected the shortlist of four, and these were then subject to public vote to decide which one will be installed for the next six months on the wall overlooking the piazza at Turnham Green Terrace."
Submissions will then re-open shortly for the next work, to be installed in September. To vote (or submit a new artwork), visit www.abundancelondon.co
David Kimpton: Penny the Orangutan
A closer look at the new artwork which will be seen by passers-by on Turnham Green Terrace
Abundance London’s W4th Plinth
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March 15, 2020
