Sculptures inspired by Prince Regent to go on display

The Prince Regent built the Royal Pavilion and made Brighton the seaside resort it is today.

Sculptures will include a giant giraffe, like the one the Prince Regent kept in the city, and a ‘man baby’ sculpture, inspired by the Royal himself.

The exhibition is part of Brighton arts event HOUSE Biennial, which runs in the city from September 30 until November 5.

‘A King’s Appetite’ takes inspiration from the Royal Pavilion and Museums collections, including caricatures by James Gillray and George Cruikshank, satirising aspects of the life of the Prince Regent (later to become King George IV), and imagery found in the Willett Collection of Popular Pottery.

As the commission’s title A King’s Appetite suggests, the imagery found in the new works relates to contemporary issues pertinent to ‘excess’, the theme of this year’s HOUSE Biennial, looking at the subsequent inequalities of both the Regency period and of society today.

Ms Ford said: “It’s a great honour to be invited to participate in this year’s HOUSE biennial, a dynamic event that brings together so many interesting artists and ideas. I am excited to have the opportunity to develop new work in response to The Royal Pavilion which offers me, as a sculptor, such a rich diversity of visual, cultural and sociological stimulation.

“Lavishness, absurdity, hubris and humanity are all on show in dizzying proportions. In response, I plan to make a group of large sculptures which will take as their starting point the savage political cartoons and caricatures which were aimed at George IV during his lifetime.”

Laura Ford with be in conversation with HOUSE Biennial curator Celia Davies, on September 30 at Brighton Museum and Art Gallery, from 5.30pm.

A King’s Appetite goes on display from September 30 to November 5 at Brighton Museum and Art Gallery, open from Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 5pm. Free to Brighton and Hove residents and Royal Pavilion and Museums members.