King Kong statue, Public sculpture at Henry Moore Institute, Leeds, England
King Kong is a fiberglass sculpture standing 5.5 meters tall, created by sculptor Nicholas Monro in 1972 and now displayed at the Henry Moore Institute. The work appears alongside its original scale model, offering viewers insight into the artist's design process.
The work was originally installed in Birmingham's Manzoni Gardens in 1972 as part of a major public art initiative spanning multiple English and Welsh cities. It subsequently relocated to different sites before eventually being housed at its current location.
The sculpture embodies a shift toward incorporating cinema and mass media into serious public art during the 1970s. It demonstrates how institutions began treating film references as worthy artistic material rather than purely commercial subjects.
The sculpture is located within the Henry Moore Institute and can be viewed as part of the broader gallery experience. The site sits centrally in Leeds and is easily accessible on foot, with the institute's courtyard offering a pleasant environment for viewing.
The sculpture spent time displayed at a car dealership where it was dressed in a Father Christmas costume. The work also survived a significant fire in 1974, an unexpected chapter in its physical journey.
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