Bouncy Stonehenge from Jeremy Deller at Glasgow visual arts festival

Date
24 April 2012

Whatever the reason for it being built – and debates over what Stonehenge actually is still rage among academics – it remains one of England’s most recognisable sights. The mystery may help explain its endurance in our national consciousness, but whenever this happens, creatives cannot help muck around with such a legacy. Arguably the best scene of the superlative SpinalTap comes when the tiny model of the famous landmark is lowered onto the stage during their song about the druid-built wonder, Eddie Izzard has a section on it in his Dress to Kill show and now Jeremy Deller has created an inflatable version for the Glasgow International Festival of Visual Arts.

The super-fun 20ft high replica has been installed on Glasgow Green and has proved a big draw for local kids (and big kids) – after the festival it will travel around the UK before ending up in London for the Olympics. The artist himself says it’s “a way of interacting with history and archaeology and culture in a wider sense” and it certainly fits in with his longstanding interest in the way our society shapes and is shaped by its past. Plus it looks AWESOME FUN.

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Jeremy Deller: Sacrilege 2012 (Courtesy of the artist, photo by Angela Catlin)

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Jeremy Deller: Sacrilege 2012 (Courtesy of the artist, photo by Angela Catlin)

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Jeremy Deller: Sacrilege 2012 (Courtesy of the artist, photo by Angela Catlin)

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Jeremy Deller: Sacrilege 2012 (Courtesy of the artist, photo by Angela Catlin)

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About the Author

Rob Alderson

Rob joined It’s Nice That as Online Editor in July 2011 before becoming Editor-in-Chief and working across all editorial projects including itsnicethat.com, Printed Pages, Here and Nicer Tuesdays. Rob left It’s Nice That in June 2015.

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