On my way to the Poetry Library at the Royal Festival Hall I saw the eye catching installation 'The Lion and the Unicorn' It is made up of lots and lots of white sheets of paper which flutter in the breeze. Coming up closer I saw that each piece of paper was a poem written by a young person from a refugee group in London. Artist Gitta Gschwendtner has worked collaboratively with the young people to make this intallation which consists of the poems printed on pieces of paper and suspended within a rectangular frame constructed by Mark Wilding. The poems are also spoken by audio recording so that the passerby can interact through reading and hearing.
The installation references an earlier work, made in 1951 at the time of the Festival of Britain, called 'The Lion and Unicorn Pavilion' and was a flight of ceramic birds symbolising migration and freedom of speech. Many of the artists in the Festival of Britain were from refugee backgrounds. The themes of strength and imagination continue today with this current group of young people giving expression to their thoughts and hopes which flutter in the breeze like a thousand birds in flight.
take a closer look by watching the video below
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