Bestival unveils giant Lionel Richie head
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.It sounds like a hoax but the protagonists behind it swear it's true: a super-sized version of Lionel Richie's head will be officially unveiled at Bestival this summer.
Where did Killian Cooper, art director of Barcelona-based collective Hungry Castle, get the idea? “The end of the ”Hello“ video features a bust of Lionel Richie's head sculpted by a blind girl!” he answers excitedly.
Cooper and his partner in crime Dave Glass have raised £8,000 for the project on Kickstarter. As they started fundraising, they got artist Alexandra Sans Massó to work on a clay prototype. Now Lionel Richie's head will be made of nylon. Inside there are turbines to keep his head up and sandbags to keep his head down.
“The only question is how big we can afford to make it – we are somewhere between being able to make it 3.5 and 6.5 metres – so we need to do a little bit of negotiating with manufacturers,” says Glass. “I'm hoping it can be 5 metres tall.”
Visitors entering one at a time will step inside through Richie's neck. “A phone will ring,” explains Cooper. “Once they answer, they'll hear Lionel singing: 'Hello... Is it me you're looking for?'”
“Now our balloon manufacturer will use the prototype to create the final inflatable sculpture,” says Cooper. “Lionel will be inflated by internal fans, and once deflated, he becomes a head in a box that can fit into all good car boots.”
Bestival, Isle of Wight (bestival.net) 5 to 8 September
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments