Silver sculptures, light installations and Olympic-related artwork has popped up in the London borough of Haringey this summer.

Bruce Castle Park in Tottenham is hosting several works including Lion by scaffolding artist Ben Long. The lion is an impressive work combining a minimal, industrial, “worksite” aesthetic with a sumptuous show of patriotism and heraldry. He stands proudly in front of Bruce Castle Museum, a spot that afforded an excellent vantage point when the Olympic Torch relay passed by here less than a fortnight ago.

I spoke to to Daniel Medina, the supervisor from Up Projects, who said the torch relay, which he also witnessed, was a highlight – with a real community buzz.

Another work, Free as a Bird by Martin Richman and Charlie Kerr, is a more subtle sound-and-light installation tucked away in Bruce Castle’s Hawk Tower. Daniel told me the work took inspiration from the tower’s history, with wing-quick flashes of reflected light and a soundtrack of deconstructed Tudor music. I thought it was very cool and my 15-month-old son found it quite mesmerising.

Venture into Bruce Castle Museum and up the stairs for Ooh Art – where you can see Olympic-themed works by 11 Haringay artists, most of whom have incorporated the help of local children. There’s a good range of stuff here, including ceramics, textiles, painting and photography.

Afterwards, Bruce Castle Park is well worth spending some time in – a large, leafy space with playing fields, tennis courts, a peaceful memorial garden and a playground with kids’ paddling pool.

Have you seen any local art in London this summer? Tell us about it in the comments below.

 

London Zoo‘s magnificent Asian lion family showed their support for the England football team as their new, improved paddock was unveiled this morning.

This is Lucifer, a seven-year-old father of two. We suspect he might be a tad more excited about the meaty treat stuffed inside the football than the beautiful game!

The new big cat enclosure will allow visitors to get even closer to the zoo’s lion pride.

And the England footballs will continue to kick around the enclosure as part of the animals’ enrichment.

Meet one of the two new baby lion cubs at ZSL London Zoo.

Look at his big paws and soft fur. Squeee!

This utterly gratuitous post of a cute baby animal was brought to you by Visit London’s Photo of the Week. If you’ve got a great London photo you think we should blog about, add it to the Visit London Flickr photo pool.