A massive wooden replica of 17th century London was torched
Sunday on the River Thames to mark the 350th anniversary of the Great Fire of
London, which paved the way for the building of the modern city. It was the
finale of the London's Burning festival - a program of free art events - is
taking place at locations including St Paul's, the Tate Modern and the National
Theatre.
Sunday night saw a 120-metre long sculpture of the
17th-century London skyline burn in a dramatic retelling of the story of the
Great Fire. It's largely credited with clearing the last vestiges of the
bubonic disease from city streets by killing rats who were still carrier - but
it also destroyed much of the medieval metropolis inside the Roman walls which
had formed its defenses for centuries.
To commemorate the Great Fire of London, artistic
collaborative Artichoke together with artist David Best constructed a 120-feet
(37-metre) long wooden replica of the town only to ruthlessly set it alight. The
old, medieval St Paul's Cathedral was completely destroyed by the fire, and
then rebuilt in its present form following the designs of architect Christopher
Wren. The artists carefully recreated London's 17th century skyline, and
present day Londoners could observe it at the festival that was held from 30
August to 4 September.
No comments:
Write comments