A Sculpture Trail | FindPenguins

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August 7, 2025
A Sculpture Trail
The Headington Shark
August 7, 2025 in England ⋅ 🌬 21 °C
This was the start of this adventure, completely random, comple bonkers and completely brilliant.

The Headington Shark (proper name Untitled 1986) is a rooftop sculpture located at 2 New High Street, Headington, Oxford, England, depicting a large shark embedded head-first in the roof of a house. It was protest art, put up without permission, to be symbolic of bombs crashing into buildings

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headington_SharkRead more
TravelerIncredible! Wonder if they needed planning permission?! Is there a story to tell?
8/10/25Reply
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A Sculpture Trail
The Deadly Six
August 7, 2025 in England ⋅ 🌬 23 °C
This set of sculptures was on display in the Natural History Museum. Oxford. Representing several of the most important vaccines in which the Oxford Vaccine Group (OVG) played a key role, including those for malaria, Ebola, typhoid, pneumonia, meningitis, and the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.

Each sculpture is made from willow, a tree native to the UK and a material imbued with historical medicinal associations dating back over 3,500 years.

https://oumnh.ox.ac.uk/the-deadly-sixRead more
TravelerThey are awesome!
8/10/25Reply
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A Sculpture Trail
Present Time
August 7, 2025 in England ⋅ 🌬 24 °C
This one was discovered while seeing if there were any geocaches nearby when visiting Oxford. The following detail on the Geocaching App intrigued us to take a look at the sculpture:

Oxford's first (and so far only) official college geocache! Come inside and see our beautiful College, with its Grade II-listed buildings designed by Basil Champneys and the Antony Gormley sculpture, 'Present Time' in the Quad

The following details the sculpture:

This sculpture is based on two moulds made from the artist's body. The solid form of the lower figure and the horizontal divisions in the lead casing emphasise its weight. Its closed form, like a mummified body, evokes feelings of imprisonment. In contrast, the upper half, with legs and arms outstretched, is free. While the upper half concerns our spiritual or mental state, the lower half represents our physical state: these states are connected yet divided. In this way, the sculpture reflects Gormley's interest in meditation and Buddhism.

https://www.nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artis…Read more
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A Sculpture Trail
Rosie the Elephant and Zoo Keeper
August 7, 2025 in England ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C
This cheeky piece of sculpture was spotted while popping into Sainsbury's. A drive by video was all we could manage but researching what it was all about gave us the detail below and the close up photo:

Five miles of steel wire woven and twisted to create an elephant with a stork on her back and a monkey by her trunk. A figure of a zookeeper is sited a short distance away. The composite sculpture marks the site of the Oxford Zoo in Kidlington in the 1930s.

https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/rosie-the-e…Read more
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A Sculpture Trail
The British Library
August 17, 2025 in England ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C
Down in London for a few days and needing the loo, but too tight to pay 😂 so, popped into the British Library and what a wonderful, peaceful, fabulous place. A few sculptures and do make sure you watch the video of a very cool piece of artwork.

The sculpture of Ann Frank in the Library was especially poignant. Her writing and our reading perfectly illustrates the power of books.Read more
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A Sculpture Trail
Oh Amy
August 17, 2025 in England ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C
Art and sculptures should make us think and this did. If only she knew how much people loved her. There was a constant stream of people having their photo taken with this bronze sculpture at Stables Market, Camdem. details at the link:

byhttps://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statue_of_Amy_Winehouse

A troubled soul, who died at 27 as a result of her addictions but with a phenomenal voice. RIP AmyRead more
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A Sculpture Trail
Hyde Park
August 17, 2025 in England ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C
After checking in to our digs for the night we took a stroll around Hyde Park, there was soooo much art. Those is just a selection:

Queen Victoria, outside of Kensington Palace:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statue_of_Queen…

Wikipedia states that: 'It was sculpted by Victoria's fourth daughter Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll and erected in 1893.' So nice to have a female sculpted by a female. Apparently, if you don't include royalty only 2.7% of statues in this country are of women!

The Albert Memorial, situated opposite the Albert Hall is a phenomenal piece of work. What stood out to me was the carvings on each corner with animals representing different parts of the world. So much to learn about this piece, this is a good place to start:

https://www.londonremembers.com/memorials/alber…

Across the park I spotted a sculpture and asked "Is that a Henry Moore?", and guess what? It was! 'The Arch.' I can't say I really 'get' his art, but I can spot it.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Arch_1979–1980

Peter Pan.

A famous piece of work by Sir George Frampton. The original statue is displayed in Kensington Gardens in London, to the west of The Long Water, close to Barrie's former home on Bayswater Road. Barrie's stories were inspired in part by the gardens: the statue is at the place where Peter Pan lands in Barrie's 1902 book The Little White Bird after flying out of his nursery. Six other casts made by Frampton have been erected in other places around the world including Sefton Park in Liverpool - one for me to find on a future visit to the North West

Two Bears drinking fountain
The Two Bears fountain was designed by Kenneth Keeble-Smith and the sculpture depicts two small bear-shaped bronze figures mounted on a pedestal, with four stone basins serviced by push button taps.

The fountain was presented by the Metropolitan Drinking Fountain Association in 1939.

In 1967 the original sculpture was stolen by thieves, so a copy was created and replaced in 1970.

The Ladybird Trail

The Ladybird Trail is a short trail of marvellous minibeasts and their habitats.

The walk takes place along the North Flower Walk in Kensington Gardens, starting at the Italian Gardens Café. There are lots of invertebrate-themes sculptures along the way, which you are welcome to play on.

Finally, a few flamboyant fountains including a totally impractical idea that doing archery in the buff might be a good idea!Read more
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