Construction starts on ‘world’s biggest art project’

Construction is set to begin on the first of five giant outdoor sculptures by sculptor Anish Kapoor and engineer Cecil Balmond, planned for the Tees Valley.

The artist and structural engineer together designed the £2.7m artwork, which will be installed at Middlehaven Dock in Middlesbrough. The sculpture, titled Temenos, will be 110m long and nearly 50m high. Its name comes from a Greek word meaning a piece of land dedicated to a god.

Sculptures will also be installed at Stockton, Hartlepool, Darlington and Redcar and Cleveland over the next ten to 15 years. Temenos is scheduled for completion this summer.

Tees Valley Regeneration claims that the five sculptures – which together will cost a total of £15m – will constitute the biggest public art project in the world.

Earlier this year, plans were unveiled for the Angel of the South, a £2m 50m-tall sculpture of a racehorse by artist Mark Wallinger, which could be installed in a field near Ebbsfleet in Kent by 2012.