''Sharks!'' is an art installation in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

by architect Jaimie Shorten. The art was built following its concept winning the 2020 Antepavilion, an annual art contest.

Art

''Sharks!'' consists of five life-sized

fibreglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass ( Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass c ...

model

shark Sharks are a group of elasmobranch cartilaginous fish characterized by a ribless endoskeleton, dermal denticles, five to seven gill slits on each side, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the ...

s. The project was inspired by

The Headington Shark The Headington Shark (proper name ''Untitled 1986'') is a rooftop sculpture located at 2 New High Street, Headington, Oxford, England, depicting a large shark embedded head-first in the roof of a house. It was protest art, put up without permiss ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

. The installation cost £25,000. It was selected and built as the 2020 Antepavilion, fitting the year's theme of "tension of authoritarian governance of the built environment and aesthetic libertarianism". Shorten said that he thinks of the sharks as ingénues, that have surfaced in the "centre of hipster maelstrom" and as "dumb recipients of the horrible world" that are redeemed through being in Hoxton and "being together".

Dispute

In August 2020,

Hackney London Borough Council Hackney London Borough Council, also known as Hackney Council, is the local authority for the London Borough of Hackney, in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. The council has been under Labour majority c ...

obtained an interim injunction order to prohibit the ''Sharks!'' from being installed at the

Regent's Canal Regent's Canal is a canal across an area just north of central London, England. It provides a link from the Paddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal, north-west of Paddington Basin in the west, to the Limehouse Basin and the River Thames in ea ...

Hoxton Hoxton is an area in the London Borough of Hackney, England. It was Historic counties of England, historically in the county of Middlesex until 1889. Hoxton lies north-east of the City of London, is considered to be a part of London's East End ...

. As stated in the interim injunction order, the Order was made at a hearing without notice to the Defendants. In October 2020, Hackney London Borough Council obtained a varied interim High Court injunction order to remove ''Sharks!'' from Regent's Canal in Hoxton after a reconsideration hearing. In April 2021, ''Sharks!'' was relocated to

Islington Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...

Boat Club. In June 2021, the sharks were removed from their home in the Islington Boat Club and returned to Antepavilion where they were stored on a river barge. In July 2021, the Court of Appeal granted permission to appeal the injunction order. In 2024, Hackney Council lost an appeal by Antepavilion to ''Sharks!'' on the Regent’s Canal. According to Antepavilion, Hackney Council now has to decide whether ''Sharks!'' requires planning permission.

References

External links

London Borough of Hackney v Shiva Ltd & Ors [2020
EWHC 2489 (QB)">020">London Borough of Hackney v Shiva Ltd & Ors BAILII The British and Irish Legal Information Institute (BAILII, pronounced "Bailey") provides legal information, and especially reports of cases decided by courts, in the United Kingdom generally and the Republic of Ireland. Decisions from England ...

Art

Dispute

See also

References

External links