Kapoor sculpture to honour Twin Towers victims
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The 67 Britons killed in the 11 September terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York will be commemorated in a giant granite sculpture by the Turner prize-winning artist Anish Kapoor.
The 67 Britons killed in the 11 September terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York will be commemorated in a giant granite sculpture by the Turner prize-winning artist Anish Kapoor.
Kapoor, who was unsuccessful with his proposals for a memorial to Diana, Princess of Wales, beat 11 other artists, including Sir Anthony Caro, Julian Opie, Richard Deacon and Antony Gormley, to win the commission.
His 19.5ftsculpture, called Unity , will be carved from a block of black granite to form the centrepiece of a proposed memorial garden in Hanover Square in lower Manhattan, near the site of the twin towers. It will feature the mirrored surfaces and reflections seen in many of his previous works.
Kapoor said yesterday that the block would have a vertical chamber of three feet by eight feet by two feet carved into it. He said: "The inner chamber is polished to give a mirrored surface. The chamber reflects light so as to form a column, which hovers, ghost-like, in the void of the stone. This very physically monolithic object then appears to create within itself an ephemeral reflection akin to an eternal flame."
The decision to appoint Kapoor was announced yesterday by the British Memorial Garden Trust in New York, which has raised some $3.5m (£2m) to pay for the memorial. The plan has been approved by the New York Art Commission, which has final say on art proposed for the city's open spaces. The first phase of the garden project is expected to begin this spring, with the finished garden opening in the summer of next year.
Kapoor was born in Bombay in 1954 but has lived in Britain since the 1970s. He won the Turner Prize in 1991 and was made a CBE last year.
His large-scale works have been seen at galleries including the Hayward on the South Bank and at the Millennium Dome. He is providing the colossal polished steel centrepiece for the Millennium Park in Chicago, due to open this summer. The public fell in love with his giant red trumpet sculpture, Marsyas , when it was in Tate Modern's Turbine Hall.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments