Another bronze sculpture has been added to Par-la-Ville Park as part of an ongoing, joint project between the Bermuda National Gallery (BNG) and the Corporation of Hamilton to beautify the City with public art.

The installation of ‘Jeté’, created by Italian sculptor Enzo Plazzotta in 1975, marks another major step in the Corporation’s plan to create a public ‘Sculpture Park’ in the heart of Hamilton.

The life-sized bronze from the Young Collection — a recent bequest to the BNG by the late John Hinson Young II, and his wife, Nelga, who survives him — depicts David Wall, former principal dancer with The Royal Ballet, and now principal repetiteur with the English National Ballet, in the balletic leap, ‘Jeté’.

This is the second sculpture from the Young Collection to be sited in Par-la-Ville Park, and joins ‘Preying Mantis Fountain’ by American sculptor Berthold Schiwetz.

Together, they form the basis of Bermuda’s first sculpture park, a joint project between the BNG and the Corporation, which will eventually form part of a city-wide public sculpture trail.

The sculpture park will be officially opened at a special ceremony on March 15 marking the 15th anniversary of the same day in 1992 when the BNG opened.

The project reflects the Youngs’ wishes that the major sculptures in their collection be displayed publicly, to be enjoyed by present and future generations of Bermudians and visitors. In all, there are nine outdoor sculptures in the Collection, the majority of which will be placed in the Park.

“The installation of ‘Jeté’ and the establishment of the sculpture park is just the first step in promoting multi-cultural art throughout the city,” Mayor Sutherland Madeiros said. “Great cities are often defined by their public art, and the pieces donated by the Youngs complement existing public sculptures by such talented Bermudian artists as Desmond Fountain, Bill Ming and Chesley Trott.

“This project not only fulfils the dream of the Youngs but also that of my predecessor, the late Jay Bluck. As a founding trustee of the BNG, Jay had a lifelong passion for the arts, and this park was a project dear to his heart. I am delighted that we have been able to make that dream a reality.”

The Mayor noted that moving ‘Jeté’ from its former home at ‘Lantana’ was no easy task — the base alone weighed 5,800 pounds — but a Corporation team led by horticulturist Stephen DeSilva had successfully masterminded the siting and installation, in consultation with BNG curator David Mitchell.

“We are proud and delighted that, with the help of the Corporation, we have been able to begin realising John Young’s dream of a ‘museum without walls’ in Hamilton,” BNG director Laura Gorham said. “Art should be accessible to everyone, and we believe this is just the start of something very exciting for public art in Bermuda, and the City of Hamilton in particular.

“It is something the whole community can enjoy and take pride in.”

Sculptor Enzo Plazzotta was born in Mestre, near Venice, Italy in 1921 and died in 1981, having worked in London for more than half his life, although he maintained his contacts with his native land, and had a studio in Tuscany. A second casting of ‘Jeté’ is sited on the Millbank at Westminster in central London.

[bul] On April 15, a Shona stone sculpture from Zimbabwe will also be placed in the Park following the closure of the BNG’s ‘New Acquisitions’ exhibition opening tomorrow [NOTE]February 6[\NOTE], in which it is included.