A life sized racehorse by British Turner Prize winning artist Mark Wallinger finds pride of place on the lawns of the British Council headquarters here.
This is the first overseas destination for 'The White Horse' an iconic state of the art sculpture fashioned out of marble and resin, which is on an global tour two years after it was unveiled ceremonially in the UK in 2013.
"Exhibition of this work of art here in front of this building will add more colors to the institution," Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma said after unveiling the sculpture here late last evening.
Commissioned by British Council, the installation, representing British art and history, will be on view for public for the next three years, before moving to other destinations.
Referring to the announcement declaring 2017 as India-UK Year of Culture during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent visit to the UK, Sharma said such initiative will add beauty to the relations between the two nations.
"Our relations have been warm and 2017 will add further beauty to this relation" he said.
Wallinger, who has a continuing fascination with horses and its emblematic status in British history, had supposedly scanned the sculpture from a real horse called Riviera Red with a white light scanner.
"The sculpture relates to the ancient history of hillside depiction of white horses in England, but the pose is familiar from current depictions of thoroughbred stallions and has been replicated throughout the history of art," said officials at the British Council.
Wallinger's pedigree 'White Horse', is a scaled-down version of a proposed 50 metre-high landmark project as big as the Statue of Liberty which he plans to build in Ebbsfleet in Kent after winning an international competition in 2009 to build a monument in Kent, which was stalled over financial crisis later.
"A captivating and enthralling installation such as the 'White Horse' by Wallinger will add allure to our great building," Director of British Council India, Rob Lynes said.
British High Commissioner to India James Baven and Director General, ICCR, C Rajasekhar were also present.
Welcoming the announcement to celebrate 2017 as Year of Culture between UK and India, British Council Director said, "To mark this, we will be opening up new places on our front lawns, opposite the 'White Horse' which will showcase works by Indian artists also."
The unveiling of sculpture is a part of the council's arts and culture initiative; re-imagine arts that aim at building creative connections in new ways between the people of the UK and India, the council officials added.
Wallinger, a UK based artist, had won the 2007 Turner prize for his recreation of protester Brian Haw's anti-war display in Parliament Square in London.
