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Artist's Downing Street sculpture fashioned from 5,117 cubes | Artist's Downing Street sculpture fashioned from 5,117 cubes |
(about 4 hours later) | |
By Nuala McCann BBC News | By Nuala McCann BBC News |
Northern Ireland artist Brendan Jamison has claimed a special niche in the UK corridors of power. | Northern Ireland artist Brendan Jamison has claimed a special niche in the UK corridors of power. |
The craftsman is a cubist of a different kind - he is known for carving thousands of sugar lumps into intricate buildings. | The craftsman is a cubist of a different kind - he is known for carving thousands of sugar lumps into intricate buildings. |
He has been chosen for an exhibition inside 10 Downing Street. | He has been chosen for an exhibition inside 10 Downing Street. |
Visiting presidents and prime ministers from across the world will be able to see the iconic black door they have just stepped through, carved in sugar. | Visiting presidents and prime ministers from across the world will be able to see the iconic black door they have just stepped through, carved in sugar. |
Jamison, 32, used 5,117 sugar cubes and took two months to complete his Downing Street door. | |
"It is a great honour to exhibit in Number 10 and is definitely a career highlight," he said. | "It is a great honour to exhibit in Number 10 and is definitely a career highlight," he said. |
"It is also a privilege to be working with curator Janice Blackburn once again. She has an OBE for her patronage of the arts and is also an esteemed writer and former co-curator of the Saatchi Gallery in London. Her level of professionalism is exceptional." | "It is also a privilege to be working with curator Janice Blackburn once again. She has an OBE for her patronage of the arts and is also an esteemed writer and former co-curator of the Saatchi Gallery in London. Her level of professionalism is exceptional." |
This is not a commercial exhibition, instead it seeks to highlight the most innovative art and craft in the UK to visiting politicians from around the globe. | This is not a commercial exhibition, instead it seeks to highlight the most innovative art and craft in the UK to visiting politicians from around the globe. |
Janice Blackburn first worked with Brendan Jamison during the display of his Tate Modern and Helen's Tower series at Sotheby's on Bond Street in October 2010. | Janice Blackburn first worked with Brendan Jamison during the display of his Tate Modern and Helen's Tower series at Sotheby's on Bond Street in October 2010. |
The Belfast-based artist has made a name for himself using a tonne of sugar lumps and sculpted them into beautiful intricate models that glitter in the daylight, in the way that only pure white sugar can. | The Belfast-based artist has made a name for himself using a tonne of sugar lumps and sculpted them into beautiful intricate models that glitter in the daylight, in the way that only pure white sugar can. |
He fashioned the iconic Tate Modern building in London, made to scale, using exactly 71,908 sugar cubes. | He fashioned the iconic Tate Modern building in London, made to scale, using exactly 71,908 sugar cubes. |
His Tate Modern sculpture is 2m wide and weighs in at 224kg. | His Tate Modern sculpture is 2m wide and weighs in at 224kg. |
It was commissioned by Native Land and Grosvenor for the 2010 London Festival of Architecture. | It was commissioned by Native Land and Grosvenor for the 2010 London Festival of Architecture. |
He also created a sugar model of NEO Bankside - four apartment pavilions beside the Tate Modern. | He also created a sugar model of NEO Bankside - four apartment pavilions beside the Tate Modern. |
Brendan's interest in architecture began in childhood. He was always a 3-D thinker, he said, and there was one toy he loved above all others. | Brendan's interest in architecture began in childhood. He was always a 3-D thinker, he said, and there was one toy he loved above all others. |
"I was always in my room building Lego models," he said. | "I was always in my room building Lego models," he said. |
"I built spaceships and castles but I never bothered with the instructions... I just built whatever I could think of in my mind." | "I built spaceships and castles but I never bothered with the instructions... I just built whatever I could think of in my mind." |
Throwing away the instructions, he unlocked the key to a creativity which sees the beauty in the ordinary. | Throwing away the instructions, he unlocked the key to a creativity which sees the beauty in the ordinary. |
Not for him clay, stone or marble. In his years at art school in Belfast and afterwards, he took wool and wax and sugar and created art from them. | Not for him clay, stone or marble. In his years at art school in Belfast and afterwards, he took wool and wax and sugar and created art from them. |
He came to sugar after a brief dalliance with Smarties - and was attracted by how he could cut and carve the cubes. | He came to sugar after a brief dalliance with Smarties - and was attracted by how he could cut and carve the cubes. |
"There was more freedom in working with them," he explained. | "There was more freedom in working with them," he explained. |
"I was attracted by the beautiful sparkles on the sugar cubes. It is a beautiful finish, you can see the fairytale sparkle in the natural light." | "I was attracted by the beautiful sparkles on the sugar cubes. It is a beautiful finish, you can see the fairytale sparkle in the natural light." |
In his final year at the University of Ulster, his exhibition featured seven 9ft tall sculptures - they were temples and minarets and giant cacti. | In his final year at the University of Ulster, his exhibition featured seven 9ft tall sculptures - they were temples and minarets and giant cacti. |
This devil is in the detail. | This devil is in the detail. |
For buildings, Brendan begins his work by studying intricate architects' plans and works to scale. | For buildings, Brendan begins his work by studying intricate architects' plans and works to scale. |
In the case of the Tate Modern, the scale was 1:100 and it took three months to complete, plus another two months to build the NEO Bankside. | In the case of the Tate Modern, the scale was 1:100 and it took three months to complete, plus another two months to build the NEO Bankside. |
Visitors to his exhibitions are always stunned by the intricacy of the models. They worry that sugar will be fragile. | Visitors to his exhibitions are always stunned by the intricacy of the models. They worry that sugar will be fragile. |
He usually treats them to the "knock" test - to show that the models can take a few knocks. He uses special glue which is absorbed into the sugar to bond the cubes together. | He usually treats them to the "knock" test - to show that the models can take a few knocks. He uses special glue which is absorbed into the sugar to bond the cubes together. |
Last year, with support from the Northern Ireland Arts Council, he built a 5m-high turret from Helen's Tower in Bangor, with every twist, balcony and casement window fashioned with precision, right down to the chimney of hearts. | Last year, with support from the Northern Ireland Arts Council, he built a 5m-high turret from Helen's Tower in Bangor, with every twist, balcony and casement window fashioned with precision, right down to the chimney of hearts. |
Brendan Jamison's work has been exhibited all over the world - in India, China, Sweden, New Zealand, Germany, France, Canada and the US. | Brendan Jamison's work has been exhibited all over the world - in India, China, Sweden, New Zealand, Germany, France, Canada and the US. |
It is a long way from childhood days building Lego on the bedroom floor. | It is a long way from childhood days building Lego on the bedroom floor. |
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