Renowned artist back to school with giant mantis

David Shrigley said the mantis sculpture aimed to highlight the role art plays in education

A Turner-nominated artist has loaned his new giant mantis sculpture to his former school to highlight the importance of art in education.

David Shrigley returned to Beauchamp College in Oadby, Leicestershire, where he said he took his "first proper art lessons" to install the three-metre (9.8ft) The Mantis Muse.

The 56-year-old said the sculpture would be used in lessons and activities - from life drawing to nature lessons - over two weeks.

He said the piece intentionally echoed his 2012 David's Life Model installation, which was displayed at the Turner Prize in 2013.

The seven-metre high sculpture of a hand giving a thumbs up sign is named Really Good

Shrigley attended the school from 1983 to 1987. He went on to take an art and design foundation course at Leicester Polytechnic and then completed his education in Glasgow.

Themes in his work, which has received international acclaim, include two-dimensional views of the world, the perspectives of aliens and monsters, and eavesdropping.

He famously designed the "thumbs up" for the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square in London in 2016.

Shrigley said art was a "fundamental part of how children learn"

The artist said he had created the praying mantis, which is made from steel and fibreglass and uses a mechanical system to rotate the insect's head, because "I believe art is a fundamental part of how children learn".

"Whether that's by doing it, viewing it, or using creativity as a way to explore other thoughts and concepts," he said.

"I'm hugely grateful to my old school for providing the art education that set me on the path for everything I've done since then."

Shrigley said with the sculpture he hoped to highlight the role art played in education, to spark a national conversation and to call for greater investment for it in schools.

"It's always puzzled me that our earliest lessons are based around drawing or painting, yet after a certain age, art is seen as an academic dead-end," he said.

Last year, it emerged the number of children studying for an art GCSE in England, Wales and Northern Ireland had dropped by 47% since 2010.

Over the same period, enrolment for art A-levels declined by 29%.

He urged the government to safeguard arts education for future generations.

The praying mantis is made from steel and fibreglass and uses a mechanical system to rotate the insect's head

Alice King, associate principal at Beauchamp College, which has students aged from 11 to 18, said it was an "absolute privilege" to welcome Shrigley, who was one of "our distinguished" alumni.

"His success has sparked inspiration among our current students," she said.

"David's striking sculpture has brought an added sense of excitement and energy to both students and staff alike."

The artist, who was awarded an OBE for Services for Visual Arts in 2020, has works in collections including Museum of Modern Art in New York, Tate Britain in London, and the National Gallery of Denmark in Copenhagen.