Scallop

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18/11/2013

BBC Radio 4 - Scallop

Exploring the controversy around Maggi Hambling's Scallop sculpture on Aldeburgh beach.

Exploring the controversy around Maggi Hambling's Scallop sculpture, her Benjamin Britten tribute on Aldeburgh beach. From 2013.

Maggi Hambling's controversial sculpture Scallop was unveiled on Aldeburgh beach in Suffolk in 2003. 

It was the artist's gift to the town and intended to commemorate Benjamin Britten - the composer inspired by this stretch of the East Anglian coast and who created a music festival that brought the town international recognition.

Maggi explains the origins and development of the piece and why Scallop is, in her view, 'the most beautiful thing' she's made and the work by which she would like to be remembered. We tell the story of that making with the Peggs, the local metal fabricators, and of the extreme difficulty she had securing permission to site the sculpture on the beach. 
 
We also consider the strong opposition it stirred in Aldeburgh. Why was the piece daubed with graffiti 13 times in the years after its unveiling? 

The row raises questions about public consultation, about whether the planning system is the appropriate way to make decisions about public art, and about public attitudes to Britten himself.

In Britten's centenary year, Scallop became a focal point of many people's visit to Aldeburgh, but it still raises hackles.

Featuring: 

Mel Gooding
Simon Loftus
Jonathan Reekie
Dennis Pegg
Ray Herring
Humphrey Burton

Producer: Susan Marling

A Just Radio production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in November 2013.

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