Richard Wilson’s 'Hang On A Minute Lads, I’ve Got A Great Idea…' goes to Hong Kong
Richard Wilson’s Hang On A Minute Lads, I’ve Got A Great Idea…., originally commissioned by the De La Warr Pavilion in 2012, goes to Hong Kong
12 March – 8 April 2015
The De La Warr Pavilion is delighted to announce that Richard Wilson’s 2012 work, Hang On a Minute Lads, I’ve Got a Great Idea… originally commissioned by the De La Warr Pavilion, was unveiled on 12 March in Hong Kong. The work’s re-enactment is a result of the collaboration between the Peninsula Hotel, Hong Kong and the Royal Academy of Arts, London and is balanced on the edge of the seventh floor sun terrace of the Grade 1 listed iconic Peninsula Hotel.
An international phenomenon when it was presented at the Pavilion, it was originally commissioned as part of the London 2012 Festival celebrating the Olympic Games. Inspired by final scene of the 1969 British film The Italian Job where a bus hangs precariously off the edge of a cliff, the red, white and blue sculpture became an emblem of Team GB’s endeavours and ambition, summed up by quintessential British humour, and attracted more than 100,000 visitors at the time. It was originally sponsored by British star Eddie Izzard, Honorary Patron of the De La Warr Pavilion and Arts Council England Grants for the Arts via the National Lottery and the Henry Moore Foundation.
Wilson, who has twice been nominated for the Turner Prize and who is best known for his ingenious sculptural installations that play with space, context and perception, said: “The ultimate goal is to make something structurally daring, a spectacle teetering on the edge of being and not being, and between stability and collapse. It speaks of the limits one wanted to go as an artist, how daring one is willing to be in terms of sculptural ideas.”
Stewart Drew, Director and CEO of the De La Warr Pavilion says…
We are thrilled that the legacy of the 2012 project continues in Hong Kong at this exciting time in the arts calendar. It is a testament to the private and public funders who helped to make this ambitious piece happen, and to the Royal Academy and the Peninsula Hotel Hong Kong for ensuring that the artwork has exposure to the widest international audience. Richard Wilson has been inspiring to work with over many years and it’s wonderful to see Hang On A Minute Lads, I’ve Got A Great Idea…. become such an iconic work.
Eddie Izzard, sponsor of the installation at DLWP says:
Three years ago, Great Britain ran a world sporting event – the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. In honour of this event, the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill on Sea, decided to hang a bus off the roof of our building.
Both events were fantastically successful.
London 2012 you will have seen on television.
The bus hanging off the roof of a building you can go and see now at the Peninsula Hotel, Hong Kong.
Hedley Swain, Area Director, South East, Arts Council England, said:
It is wonderful to see Richard Wilson’s installation living beyond 2012, helping to continue the legacy of the London 2012 Festival and further contributing to our global reputation for cultural excellence. This imaginative tribute to The Italian Job is a great example of what can be achieved through our investment and it is fantastic to see that it will now be enjoyed by a whole new audience.
About The Work
Hang On A Minute Lads, I’ve Got a Great Idea… is presented courtesy of the Artist and Michelle D’Souza Fine Art. It was originally commissioned by the De La Warr Pavilion, UK and generously supported by Eddie Izzard, the Arts Council England Grants for the Arts via the National Lottery and the Henry Moore Foundation, as part of the London 2012 Festival.
About the De La Warr Pavilion
The De La Warr Pavilion is a centre for contemporary art within the most iconic modernist buildings in Britain. In the pioneering and progressive spirit from which the building originated, it produces an innovative, high quality and integrated programme of art, live performance and culture. By putting artists and audiences at its heart it aims to be accessible and relevant, create opportunities, drive aspirations and reflect the thinking and ideas of the work in which we live.
A pioneering place where people matter. www.dlwp.com