A pair of talented artists from Birmingham are putting Lincoln on the map by featuring the city’s iconic skyline on the knight sculpture being sponsored by Bishop Grosseteste University.
Kieron Reilly and Lynsey Brecknell have called BGU’s statue ‘Knight and Day’, and it is one of 35 knights which will make up this year’s Lincoln Knights’ Trail celebrating the 800th anniversary of the Battle of Lincoln.
The event organised by Lincoln BIG runs from 20th May until 3rd September and the knight statues will be unveiled at a launch evening at The Showroom in Lincoln on 27th March. As part of the trail BGU’s knight will be stationed near Newport Arch not far from the university’s campus.
“Our design ‘Knight and Day’ shows off Lincoln’s beautifully unique skyline in silhouette form against a bold sunset, including our sponsor Bishop Grosseteste University,” said Lynsey.
“Following the success of the Lincoln Barons’ Charter Trail in 2015 we’re sure that the Lincoln Knights are going to be loved by the locals and visitors from across the country, and we are proud to be a part of such an exciting project.”
Kieron and Lynsey have very different artistic backgrounds: Lynsey has developed a career in theatre as a scenic artist and set builder while Kieron has a background in animation and now focuses on model making and design.
They have successfully collaborated on many public art trails in the past and are looking forward to showcasing their design alongside the other sculptures on the Lincoln Knights’ Trail.
“I’ve had a preview of our knight and it’s looking fantastic,” said the Reverend Canon Professor Peter Neil, Vice Chancellor of Bishop Grosseteste University.
“We chose this design because we found it eye-catching and attractive, and also because it features the Lincoln skyline. The artists have adapted this to include the Skinner building on our campus in the silhouette, along with colours in the sky which fade up to BGU purple at the very top.
“We think it looks wonderful and we’re looking forward to seeing it take its place as part of the Lincoln Knights’ Trail this summer.”
Following the launch on 27th March each knight will be hosted by its sponsor to promote the trail, which will starts on 20th May – 800 years to the day since the Battle of Lincoln.
The Lincoln Knights’ Trail is a Wild in Art event brought together by Lincoln BIG in partnership with Visit Lincoln and Education Business Partnership (EBP), in support of local homeless charity the Nomad Trust.
Following a call for artists back in September 2016, over 200 innovative designs were submitted. A shortlist of 70 was drawn up and the artists given the opportunity to paint their design onto a miniature knight sculpture. The 35 sponsors then selected their favourite design.
Following the trail the knights will be sold at auction at Lincoln Cathedral on 30th September. Two-thirds of the money raised will go to The Nomad Trust and one-third will help to create a new Art and Innovation Fund for Lincoln.
The knights were designed and created by Wild in Art’s Creative Director Chris Wilkinson in the style of a chess piece.