Es Devlin And Google Will Add A Fluorescent Red Lion Sculpture To London's Trafalgar Square

During the London Design Festival in September, award-winning artist and designer Es Devlin will transform Trafalgar Square with her immersive sculpture Please Feed The Lions.

Es Devlin, well known for her kinetic set design work for the likes of Beyoncé, Kanye West and Lady Gaga, will create London Design Festival’s landmark project, which will appear overnight in Trafalgar Square on Monday, 17 September 2018.

A fifth lion will be added to the base of Nelson’s Column, which was erected in the 19th century

The pride of four lions sat at the base of Nelson’s Column will gain a fifth member in the form of a fluorescent red lion facing the National Gallery.

“The British design guru Sir John Sorrell nudged me as we walked through Trafalgar Square this time last year,” reveals Devlin. “He said: ‘Landseer never wanted those lions to look so passive: he proposed a much more animated stance, but Queen Victoria found it too shocking.’ The thought lodged in my mind. What if we could invest the lion with a crowd-sourced collective poetic voice?”

The lion will ‘roar’ a collective poem, created by the public

Working with Google Arts & Culture, Devlin explored the parameters of AI and machine learning, with the interactive sculpture ‘roaring’ poetry created using words fed to it by the public.

During the day, the evolving poem will unfold on an LED screen embedded within the mouth of the lion. At night, the poem will be projection mapped onto the 175-year-old column at the heart of Trafalgar Square.

“We’re delighted to be able to support Es’s exploration of machine learning in her work and be part of her public artwork for London Design Festival,” said Google Arts & Culture’s Freya Murray. “Machine learning is helping to tackle some of the biggest challenges we face today, from healthcare to environmental conservation. This technology can also provide artists with a new set of tools. It’s exciting to see Es Devlin collaborating with machine learning to realise her vision for her first large-scale sculptural work.”

By night, the poem will be projected onto Nelson’s Column

Google will also create an online exhibition that will enable people all over the globe to view and experience the groundbreaking sculpture.

“The unique combination of cutting-edge machine learning and AI technology with traditional public sculpture will inspire, amaze and entertain audiences around the world as well as in Trafalgar Square, widening access and participation to both the arts and new technologies,” said Fiona Morris, CEO and founder of art organisation The Space, which is supporting the project.

London Design Festival 2018 will run from 15-23 September 2018 – find out more here.

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.