Devil's Trumpet, a cornucopia of redundant cutlery in the form of a floral bouquet made from mixed media including steel, nickel and silver plated forks and spoons, Margate, 2016, designed and made by Ann Carrington.

Devil's Trumpet, a cornucopia of redundant cutlery in the form of a floral bouquet, supported by a hemispherical bowl on three, squat feet.

Given by Ann Carrington

Devil’s Trumpet is a modern day memento mori. Inspired by Dutch still lives of the 16th and 17th centuries where the pictures team with precious objects testifying to the pleasures of life and the flow of time, such as a pocket watch, a pewter mug, a vase of flowers, a set table. In this sculpture the flowers are composed of silver plated spoons. Devil’s Trumpet is in part inspired by the work of Grinling Gibbons who was celebrated for his sculptural garlands featuring cascades of fruit.

Ann Carrington studied at Bourneville College of Art, Birmingham and The Royal College of Art graduating in 1987. In 1988 she received The Herbert Read Award, followed by the Commonwealth Fellowship for Sculpture in 1992. Two major Arts Council of Great Britain awards followed in 1994 and 1997. In 2008 she was the winner of a national competition to produce a major new artwork for Margate sea front.

In 2010 Ann Carrington was invited by the United Nations to help raise awareness of current issues through her artwork – her first art work for The UN was presented at the UN Human Trafficking conference in Luxor Egypt, December 2010. She has exhibited worldwide and fulfilled many private and public commissions including the large scale public artwork – Manhattan Mettle – which was unveiled at The W Hotel, Hoboken, USA. in 2011.

Ann Carrington was commissioned to make The Royal Jubilee Banner for the Queen in celebration of her diamond Jubilee. The Royal Jubilee banner hung from the stern of the Royal Barge ‘The Spirit of Chartwell’ as it made its journey up the River Thames from Battersea to London Bridge on the historic occasion of the Thames Diamond Jubilee procession 3rd June 2012.

In 2014 Ann Carrington produced commissions for The Waldorf Astoria, The Alpini Gstaad, and The Chiltern Firehouse, followed by a solo show at Paul Smith’s Mayfair gallery in March 2015. `Devil’s Trumpet’ was included in her solo show at The Royal College of Art in July 2016.

Collections / Commissions
Thames Diamond Jubilee Foundation, United Nations, Chiltern Firehouse, Royal Mail, Jacob Rothschild, Waddesdon Manor, The Worshipful Company of Haberdashers, Guinness, Issey Miyake, Lilly Saffra, Duke of Westminster, Levi Strauss, Dunhill, Andre Balazs, DAKS, Elton John, Paul Smith, Lulu Guinness, Donatella Flick, Agent Provocateur, The Commonwealth Institute, Fred Segal, Tyra Banks, Gwyneth Paltrow, Waldorf Astoria, Mercury Telephones, Patricia Glenn, David Tang, Citibank, Clarks, National Trust, Mars, W Hotels.

Devil’s Trumpet is a monumental bouquet of flowers that was inspired by memento-mori in 17th-century Dutch still-life paintings. Memento-mori reminded viewers of the temporary nature of life and often took the form of wilting flowers or precious objects left behind after death. In this bouquet, however, the flowers are in full bloom and new life has been breathed into old metals: the bouquet has been assembled with extraordinary skill from dozens of old pieces of cutlery.

Ann Carrington studied at Bourneville College of Art, Birmingham and The Royal College of Art graduating in 1987. In 1988 she received The Herbert Read Award, followed by the Commonwealth Fellowship for Sculpture in 1992. Two major Arts Council of Great Britain awards followed in 1994 and 1997. In 2008 she was the winner of a national competition to produce a major new artwork for Margate sea front.

In 2010 Ann was invited by the United Nations to help raise awareness of current issues through her artwork – her first art work for The UN was presented at the UN Human Trafficking conference in Luxor Egypt, December 2010. She has exhibited worldwide and fulfilled many private and public commissions including the large scale public artwork – Manhattan Mettle – which was unveiled at The W Hotel, Hoboken, USA. in 2011.

Ann was commissioned to make The Royal Jubilee Banner for the Queen in celebration of her diamond Jubilee. The Royal Jubilee banner hung from the stern of the Royal Barge ‘The Spirit of Chartwell’ as it made its journey up the River Thames from Battersea to London Bridge on the historic occasion of the Thames Diamond Jubilee procession 3rd June 2012. The Royal Banner was recently purchased by The Worshipful Company of Haberdashers, one of the great twelve livery companies of London and now hangs permanently in the Haberdashers’ Hall, West Smithfield.

Other commissions have included for The Waldorf Astoria, The Alpini Gstaad, and The Chiltern Firehouse, and solo exhibitions have included 'Pom Pom Pompadour' at Paul Smith’s Mayfair gallery and ‘Pop goes the Weasel!’ at the Royal College of Art, Kensington, London.

M.18-2016