A SCULPTURE of gigantic proportions has taken shape in front of The Bowes Museum ahead of a major exhibition.
The museum, in Barnard Castle, will be hosting The BFG in Pictures exhibition from Saturday, July 14, and ahead of the exhibition chainsaw sculptors carved a massive representation of the popular character in the gardens. The exhibition features 40 artworks by Quentin Blake who illustrated author Roald Dahl’s book BFG.
Sculptor Lee Hosking, who was commissioned to produce the BFG statue, said the original idea was to use the trunk of the famous monkey puzzle tree that graced the museum’s garden until it died recently.
Mr Hosking said: “It was supposed to be cut down to 15ft but that didn’t happen. It is a type of soft wood that would have been easy to work with.”
Instead they used a Douglas fir trunk to produce the 12ft high BFG. Mr Hosking, along with fellow sculptors David Haywood and Lukas Beben, took about 15 hours to complete the piece which involved using a chainsaw to carve out the rough figure and grinders to finish it off.
Mr Hosking said: “The lifespan of this is about ten to 15 years.”
