On Tuesday 11 December, a massive sculpture by Salvador Dali, standing a total of 5.65m high on a plinth and weighing 2,500 kilos was lowered into position at Kew Gardens behind the famous Palm House.
In September, Kew was the winner of the Dali Universe competition, which invited Londoners to cast their votes on the best location for the monumental sculpture, The Profile of Time.
Gardens have always been a place for inspiration, contemplation and reflection. Where could be better than the world's most famous garden as the backdrop for one of the world's most famous sculptures, by the master of surrealism?
The Secret Life of Salvador Dali
The Profile of Time, one of Dali's most famous works, features an enormous 'soft' watch, melting over a tree. The sculpture is based on the 1931 painting, The Persistence of Memory, which explores the nature of human perceptions of time. Dali Universe, Londom's newest art attraction, is offering the sculpture on loan for a year.
Dali Universe, based at County Hall, is an innovative exhibition dedicated to the great Spanish surrealist. It features over 500 works of art never seen before in the UK, showcasing sculpture, graphics, furniture and jewellery and includes the famous Mae West Lips Sofa. Dali was fascinated by the natural world and the interplay between time and nature, and also painted several surrealist plant portraits.
Dali : The Salvador Dali Museum Collection
The Collected Writings of Salvador Dali - The Collected Writings of Salvador Dali is the first comprehensive collection of Dali's shorter writings to appear in English. The texts are accompanied by extensive commentaries and annotations which serve to illuminate the rich intellectual background and the broad range of references brought by Dali to his writings.