Wyllie O Hagan

The Angel of the Lee Valley:

A Public Art Project Commission
for the Lee Valley Regional Parks Authority
Artist Denise Wyllie

The Angel of the Lee Valley, a giant transient land art work, spanned an area the size of a football pitch, on Leyton Marshes, East London, UK 1999 / 2000.

It was a large chalk drawing engineered by Wyllie and inspired by ancient images cut into the English chalk hillside. The angel’s pose came from observing winged deities from many different cultures plus Raphael and Superwoman. The angel holds a labyrinth encircled with symbols from seven different faiths of the local London community.

‘I didn’t want this guardian spirit hovering above in the air, but close by us on the ground. It was created to be viewed from one of four hot air balloons, so that we could exchange places with angels. I designed this piece of land art to fade away and leave no marks on the landscape but to plant the experience of the work in people’s memory’ - Denise Wyllie

Central to this commission for Lee Valley Regional Parks Authority were lead-in art workshops. Women’s groups from different faiths developed their own response to the theme inspired by many cultures throughout history. Resulting from these workshops the artist developed the concept of the original brief.

The Lee Valley Angel reflects the diverse cultural make-up of the community by incorporating winged deities and abstract patterns from the workshops into the angel’s gown and showing seven symbols representing some of the many religions, around the perimeter of the labyrinth she holds.

The finished art work became a catalyst for environmental task workshops with project partners. Many people enjoyed taking part in the creative process that crossed many boundaries, such as Caribbean senior ladies, young Moslem women and even the grounds men who offered their expertise to help transfer the image onto the grass.

Lee Valley Community Activities Page

Lee Valley Park Website

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