Kendra Haste at the Tower of London
Kendra’s commission for Historic Royal Palaces (thirteen sculptures) which forms part of an exhibition ‘Royal Beasts’ celebrating the history of the Royal Menagerie, can be seen at the Tower of London.
Life-size lions, baboons, a polar bear and an elephant, all constructed with her trademark material, galvanised wire, help tell the story of the exotic animals that were kept at the Tower from the 1100s, providing entertainment and spectacle for visitors. Included in the commission is one of the most famous Tower ‘inmates’, a polar bear (a gift from the King of Norway to Henry III in 1251) whose collar and chain allowed it to fish for food in the Thames without escaping. In 1832 the remaining animals from the Menagerie were moved to Regents Park to help establish London Zoo.
The Exhibition is the first of its kind devoted to the Royal Menagerie. All of Kendra’s sculptures will remain installed in their present locations at the Tower, a World Heritage site, for the next ten years.
For further information, including images of the installation, please visit: www.kendrahaste.co.uk