Paul Cummins’ sculptures for the House of Parliament

Last week-end, I went to London (England) with daughter number 2 to visit the House of Parliament. The weather was changing: grey most of the time and rainny on and off…

Big Ben - before and and after the rain...

The visit of the House of Lord and the Commons was fascinating and very interesting. The building, apart from a large hall, dates from 1840 and is an example of Victorian Gothic architecture.

 

 

Part of the Parliament

 

 

Parliament building in the Victorian Gothic style

While waiting to get inside – thought an airport type security check – I looked at a sculpture installation in the Parliament’s garden.

 

 

Paul Cummins' ceramic flower installation

 

This installation is part of Arts in Parliament, a project that brings art, music, dance and poetry into the Houses of Parliament from June to September 2012, for the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad.

 

 Paul Cummins' ceramic flower installation - in background, a statue of Oliver Cromwell

Paul Cummins' ceramic flower installation

 
Ceramics artist Paul Cummins has created an installation of several hundred ceramic roses in red and white as well as multi-coloured tulips. Each hand-thrown ceramic flower is mounted on galvanised steel rods. The leaves of the tulips are made of glazed metal and were gently moving with the wind.

  It is one of six installations by the artist around the theme of the English garden.

Related resources

• Arts in Parliament website
• Paul Cummins’ website