Kenny Hunter sculpture unveiled in Spitalfields market

The winning design of the inaugural Spitalfields Sculpture Prize has been unveiled in London’s Spitalfields. Kenny Hunter’s hand-sculpted goat stands atop a stack of packing crates to create the 3.5metre high I Goat, which was inspired by Spitalfields’ rich, ongoing social history. 

"Goats are associated with non-conformity and being independently-minded. That is also true of London, it’s people and never more so than in Spitalfields." said artist Kenny Hunter at the official unveiling on 20 January 2011.

Scottish sculptor Hunter beat seven other shortlisted designs to win the £45,000 commission. Hunter is known for his monumental sculptures and his works have been exhibited worldwide. The judges said:

“We were pleased to be able to select a winner from such a wide-ranging and strong shortlist and it was a hard task picking an overall winner; but after long deliberations we were delighted to award the prize to Kenny Hunter’s I Goat. Hunter’s sculpture is well conceived and has particular relevance to the changing populations of the area surrounding Spitalfields - it has a great sense of transient cultures. As a sculpture it makes a very strong visual statement."

“We are pleased that we had such a healthy initial response from artists, with nearly 200 submissions, and are grateful for the involvement of the general public in helping to decide the winner of the prize. Thank you to the thousands of people who took time to vote.”

A public vote was combined with those of the judges - including Sir Richard MacCormac, Nigel Hall and Alex Sainsbury – to decide the overall winner.

The Spitalfields Sculpture Prize 2010 is supported by real estate company Hammerson, developer of Bishops Square, and international legal practice Allen & Overy LLP. 

Spitalfields Sculpture Prize School Project
As part of this year’s prize, a dozen year ten students from Morpeth School in Tower Hamlets chosen for their enthusiasm in the Visual Arts were introduced to the possibilities and excitement of public art by prize-winner Kenny Hunter.  Working in their own time and at after-school sessions, each student researched the history and area of Spitalfields, experimented with materials and processes, developed individual ideas, and made maquettes for site-specific pieces to produce wide-ranging, mature and creative work.

About Kenny Hunter

Born in Edinburgh in 1962, Kenny Hunter studied sculpture at Glasgow School of Art. He has exhibited extensively abroad and in the U.K. including solo exhibitions at

• Scottish National Portrait Gallery (2000)
• Centre for Contemporary Arts (Glasgow, 2003)
• Yorkshire Sculpture Park (2006)
• Tramway (Glasgow, 2008)
• Conner Contemporary, Washington DC (2009)

Hunter has also created a number of high profile, commissioned works including 'Youth with split apple' (2005) for Kings College, Aberdeen, 'Citizen Firefighter' (2001) outside Glasgow's Central Station and ‘Natural Selection’ (2006) in Great Ormond Street Hospital. He was one of five shortlisted for the Olympic arts project Artists Taking The Lead, in Scotland. Hunter lives and works in Glasgow.

To read source article visit:
http://www.spitalfields.co.uk/dspevent.php?name=SCULPTURE+PRIZE+WINNER