A taxpayer-funded £19,500 mobile created by Nottingham artist Nicky Hirst has gone on display in Parliament. It was commissioned to represent the 2019 general election and the project is the first mobile to enter the Parliamentary Art Collection.
The brightly coloured suspended sculpture, which is on display in Portcullis House, was created by Ms Hirst, who was selected to be Parliament’s official election artist for 2019. The Speaker’s Advisory Committee on Works of Art has commissioned an election artist for each general election since 2001, with the resulting artwork being acquired for the Parliamentary Art Collection.
The latest addition, entitled There Was A Time 2019-20, is the result of the artist’s travels throughout the election, as she followed the campaign trail and attended related events such as hustings and manifesto launches. The mobile’s moving form is intended to represent the “carousel” of stories and people at the election, and the 64 colourful abstract shapes aim to signify politicians and voters, and to celebrate the diversity of the election.
