Claudia Massie
the Clegg egg
Easter is approaching, and Easter means eggs. the practice of decorating, blessing and giving eggs as a symbol of Christ’s rebirth has continued for hundreds of years but the origins of this egg-worship, and that of the delivering rabbit or hare, stretch back to the earliest pagan times.
just as ancient midwinter festivals segued into Christmas, so Easter merged with the traditional celebrations of spring around the time of the vernal equinox. the egg, rich in the promise of new life, served as a fitting symbol for both pagan and Christian beliefs.
Nowadays, our egg-worship is most commonly expressed in the form of the Easter egg hunt, and the eggs are usually chocolate. the most famous Easter eggs, however, are of course those made by Fabergé for the Imperial Russian family between 1885 and 1916.
the tradition was begun by Tsar Alexander III when he commissioned an egg as an opulent Easter gift for his wife, Maria. So delighted was she that the tradition continued up until the fall of the Tsars.
each exquisite egg revealed surprises within surprises, and took over a year to make – a miniature replica of the Imperial Coronation Carriage, for example, took 15 months of 16- hour working days to create and formed only part of the 1897 ‘Coronation Egg’. (This is the one featured in the James Bond film Octopussy.)
Fabergé have now produced two new jewelled eggs to coincide with The Fabergé big Egg Hunt, a London-wide event running until April 3rd.
In what must be one of the grandest egg hunts ever, more than 200 two-and-a-half-foot-high fibreglass eggs – each designed by a different artist – have been secreted around London, where they now lurk awaiting detection.
each of these eggs bears a unique code that can be texted to Egg Hunt HQ, with every text serving as an entry into the grand prize draw – the prize being the Fabergé Diamond Jubilee Egg, worth £100,000.
the more eggs ‘collected’, the more chances of winning, but the real fun lies in the hunt itself and the enjoyment of examining all the different designs. the hunt will culminate in an auction, which will include the specially produced Fabergé Collier de Plume D’or.
among the many egg artists, including Sir Peter Blake, Zaha Hadid, Sir Ridley Scott and the Chapman brothers, is the young painter and sculptor Oliver Clegg. He spoke exclusively to the Spectator Arts Blog about his involvement and explained the thinking behind his egg.
In keeping with the tradition of Fabergé eggs, Clegg has gone beyond the surface. Peering through the transparent shell of his creation reveals a surprise: a hovering light bulb with the filament spelling out the word ‘oeuf’.
He explains, ‘With this piece, I chose not to have a current running through it and deliberately used the wording “oeuf” in the filament as a pun on the French for egg – “oeuf” – but also as a half-rhyme of the word “off”: hence the title, “on/oeuf”.’ this use of wordplay and humour is typical of Clegg’s pleasingly whimsical work.
He also spoke of the appeal of being involved in the big Egg Hunt: ‘most important is the charity angle of the project and the huge benefits that will be received from the money raised at auction. a second attraction is the enjoyment of making work outside the context of your normal practice.’
the charities he refers to are Elephant Family and Action for Children. He also notes that it ‘is surprising, when looking at the different eggs, how each artist has responded so uniquely to the task’.
Certainly, the variety of design is remarkable with some eggs painted, some completely deconstructed; some sculptural, some graphic. this artistic variety is a key part of the interest.
Zone maps can be downloaded HERE to assist your egg hunt (the Clegg egg is somewhere in Mayfair) but, even with this guidance, you will need sharp eyes and dedication to locate all the eggs.
And, with only a couple of weeks remaining, you will have to be quick, too.
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