Yorkshire Sculpture Park (YSP) presents five bronzes in its historic 18th-century Formal Garden this autumn, bringing together works by internationally acclaimed artists exploring metamorphosis, hybrid forms, mythology and the body.

Now open to the public, the display introduces three sculptures to YSP for the first time alongside two much-loved works relocating within the Park. Together, the five bronzes span four decades of sculpture, bringing distinct approaches to the human, animal and spiritual forms into dialogue with the Formal Garden and its historic setting.

The five bronzes are:

Elisabeth Frink – Mirage I and II (1980)

Bharti Kher – choleric, phlegmatic, melancholy, sanguine (2009)

Huma Bhabha – The Orientalist (2007)

Leiko Ikemura – Usagi Kannon II [Rabbit Madonna] (2013/2018)

Lynn Chadwick – Little Girl (1987)

Leiko Ikemura’s Usagi Kannon II [Rabbit Madonna] transforms the familiar figure of the Madonna into a mysterious hybrid presence. Bharti Kher’s choleric, phlegmatic, melancholy, sanguine takes its title from the four classical humours – the ancient Greek idea that associated bodily fluids with temperament. Kher translates this historic theory of personality and emotion into an enigmatic sculptural form.

In Huma Bhabha’s The Orientalist, a human figure becomes fragmented and monumental like an architectural remnant. Its otherworldly appearance conjures ideas of ancient civilisations and imagined futures, while questioning how histories and cultural narratives are represented.

Elisabeth Frink’s Mirage I and II and Lynn Chadwick’s Little Girl bring these works into dialogue with the legacy of post-war British sculpture. Frink’s powerful forms and Chadwick’s distinctive, angular approach to the figure transform bodies and nature into something more elemental and symbolic.

Elsewhere in the Park, two of Daniel Arsham’s popular sculptures are now placed in the wider landscape. Bronze Eroded Bunny (2022) can now be found in Lower Park, while Unearthed Bronze Eroded Melpomene (2021) is by the Upper Lake. The relocation of Melpomene - a large bronze head referencing the classical statue of the Greek muse of tragedy - brings Arsham’s meditation on antiquity, erosion and regeneration into a new setting.

Louise Lohr, YSP Deputy Curator, said: “This autumn’s display brings a rich assembly of bronzes into the Formal Garden, several of them seen at YSP for the first time. Together, they explore the body in transformation - hybrid, fragmented and mythologised - and ask how sculpture can hold the tension between permanence and change.

“The Formal Garden provides a particularly evocative setting for these works, bringing contemporary and modern sculpture into conversation with its historic architecture and carefully ordered landscape. We are also delighted to place two of Arsham’s most popular works into the wider landscape, allowing visitors to encounter them in dialogue with the Park’s lakes, woodlands and historic vistas.”

Further information on the sculpture in their new settings is available at ysp.org.uk.

Notes to Editors 
Press enquiries
Mana Merikhy, Sutton / +44 (0)20 7183 3577 / mana@suttoncomms.com
YSP / +44 (0)1924 832 631 / comms@ysp.org.uk  
Download images at ysp.org.uk/press

Listings information
Yorkshire Sculpture Park, West Bretton, Wakefield WF4 4LG
Near Wakefield and Barnsley – M1 Junction 38
+44 (0)1924 832631 | ysp.org.uk | @YSPsculpture
Check online for opening hours.
Book tickets at ysp.org.uk

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