# Alex Chinneck > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Alex_Chinneck > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Alex_Chinneck.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Chinneck > Source revision: 1335323674 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|British sculptor (born 1984)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2018}} {{Use British English|date=July 2014}} {{Infobox artist |name = Alex Chinneck |image = Portrait of Alex Chinneck.tiff |image_size = |caption = Alex Chinneck standing next to ''[A Pound of Flesh for 50p](/source/A_Pound_of_Flesh_for_50p)'' |birth_place = |birth_date = {{birth year and age|1984}} |field = [Public art](/source/Public_art), sculpture |education = [Chelsea College of Arts](/source/Chelsea_College_of_Arts), [Royal British Society of Sculptors](/source/Royal_British_Society_of_Sculptors) |works = ''[A Pound of Flesh for 50p](/source/A_Pound_of_Flesh_for_50p)'' }} '''Alex Chinneck''' [MRSS](/source/Royal_Society_of_Sculptors) (born 1 October 1984) is a British sculptor known for creating temporary public artworks. ==Early life== Alex was educated at [Bedford Modern School](/source/Bedford_Modern_School), where his father taught [PE](/source/Physical_education).{{cite web|url=http://www.bedfordshire-news.co.uk/Artist-turns-house-upside-Blackfriars/story-21723830-detail/story.html|title=Artist turns the house upside down in Blackfriars|work=Bedfordshire News|accessdate=29 December 2014}} He had ambitions to become a [cricketer](/source/cricketer), having captained his school team at county level, before his interest in art at the age of 16.{{cite news|last1=Mohammed|first1=Syma|title=Hackney artist wins acclaim for house that appears to be falling down|url=http://www.hackneygazette.co.uk/news/hackney_artist_wins_acclaim_for_house_that_appears_to_be_falling_down_1_2904284|accessdate=26 November 2014|newspaper=[Hackney Gazette](/source/Hackney_Gazette)|date=19 October 2013|archive-date=24 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924024810/http://www.hackneygazette.co.uk/news/hackney_artist_wins_acclaim_for_house_that_appears_to_be_falling_down_1_2904284|url-status=dead}} He studied painting at [Chelsea College of Arts](/source/Chelsea_College_of_Arts), graduating with a Bachelor of Arts, and became a Member of the [Royal Society of Sculptors](/source/Royal_Society_of_Sculptors).{{cite web|title=Alex Chinneck MRSS|url=https://sculptors.org.uk/artists/alex-chinneck|publisher=[Royal Society of Sculptors](/source/Royal_Society_of_Sculptors)|accessdate=28 July 2022}} ==Career== Shortly after college, he was granted a [Gilbert Bayes](/source/Gilbert_Bayes) award by the [Royal Society of Sculptors](/source/Royal_British_Society_of_Sculptors) to help in his transition to professional practice, following which he collaborated with [Conrad Shawcross](/source/Conrad_Shawcross) on his work.{{cite web|last1=Lingham|first1=Daniel|title=Interview with Alex Chinneck|url=http://sculptorvox.com/alex-chinneck/|work=Sculpture Vox|accessdate=26 November 2014|date=26 June 2014}} After initially focusing on small sculptures, influenced by ''[House](/source/House_(sculpture))'' designed by [Rachel Whiteread](/source/Rachel_Whiteread) and the work of [Richard Wilson](/source/Richard_Wilson_(sculptor)), Chinneck started working on large scale designs. Most of Chinneck's earliest public artworks were realised across [Greater London](/source/Greater_London). His early works include ''Telling the Truth Through False Teeth'' (2012), where the artist used 1,248 pieces of glass to create 312 identically smashed windows across the derelict facade of a factory in Hackney, ''[From the Knees of my Nose to the Belly of my Toes](/source/From_the_Knees_of_my_Nose_to_the_Belly_of_my_Toes)'' (2013) in [Margate](/source/Margate) where Chinneck created the illusion that the entire facade of house had slid into the garden, and ''Under the Weather but Over the Moon'' (2013), a commercial property situated on [Blackfriars Road](/source/Blackfriars_Road) created to look as if it had become completely inverted.{{cite web|last1=Macdonald|first1=Fiona|title=Alex Chinneck: The man who makes houses melt|url=http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20141010-the-man-who-makes-houses-melt|publisher=[BBC](/source/BBC)|accessdate=26 November 2014|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141011201313/http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20141010-the-man-who-makes-houses-melt|archivedate=11 October 2014|date=10 October 2014}}{{cite web|last1=Karbowska|first1=Iwona|title=In pictures: 'The Upside Down House' art installation unveiled|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/in-pictures-the-upside-down-house-art-installation-unveiled-8983008.html? |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131204223300/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/in-pictures-the-upside-down-house-art-installation-unveiled-8983008.html |archive-date=2013-12-04 |url-access=limited |url-status=live|work=[The Independent](/source/The_Independent)|accessdate=26 November 2014|date=4 December 2013}} For his work in [Hackney](/source/London_Borough_of_Hackney), local residents have described Chinneck as the "[Banksy](/source/Banksy) of Glass".{{cite web|title=Telling the Truth Through False Teeth by Alex Chinneck|url=http://www.dezeen.com/2012/07/18/telling-the-truth-through-false-teeth-by-alex-chinneck/|publisher=Dezeen|accessdate=28 November 2014}}{{cite news|last1=Milliard|first1=Coline|title="Banksy of Glass" Pushes Broken Window Theory to New Heights|url=http://www.blouinartinfo.com/news/story/814449/banksy-of-glass-pushes-broken-window-theory-to-new-heights|accessdate=26 November 2014|work=[Blouinartinfo](/source/Blouinartinfo)|date=18 July 2012}} Subsequent works include ''Take my Lightning but Don't Steal my Thunder'' (2014), a building located in [Covent Garden](/source/Covent_Garden) designed to appear as if it floated in the air, and ''A Pound of Flesh for 50p'' (2014), a house on [Southwark Street](/source/Southwark_Street) made from 7,500 [paraffin wax](/source/paraffin_wax) bricks which slowly melted.{{cite news|last1=Weingus|first1=Leigh|title=This Creepy Wax House Is Slowly Melting to the Ground in the Middle of London|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/29/melting-house-london_n_6070254.html|accessdate=31 October 2014|work=[The Huffington Post](/source/The_Huffington_Post)|date=30 October 2014}}{{cite web|last1=Alleyne|first1=Allyssia|title=Strange case of the melting house: Alex Chinneck's mind-bending buildings|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2014/11/25/world/alex-chinneck-mind-bending-buildings/index.html|work=[CNN](/source/CNN)|access-date=30 March 2015|date=25 November 2014}} The installation, ''Pick Yourself Up and Pull Yourself Together'' (2015) saw a [Vauxhall Corsa](/source/Vauxhall_Corsa) suspended upside down in [Southbank Centre](/source/Southbank_Centre) car park.{{cite news|last1=Livingstone|first1=Cheryl|title=Artist gets behind the wheel of new Vauxhall sculpture|url=https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/lifestyle/motors/496689/artist-gets-behind-wheel-new-vauxhall-sculpture/|accessdate=6 March 2015|work=[The Press and Journal](/source/The_Press_and_Journal_(Scotland))|date=19 February 2015}} In 2015, Chinneck was commissioned to create one of the flagship projects for [London Design Festival](/source/London_Design_Festival) on [Greenwich Peninsula](/source/Greenwich_Peninsula). Chinneck’s response to the site - an inverted electricity pylon standing 37 metres tall - has been voted among the best public artworks in London.{{cite web |title=Top 20 public sculptures in London |url=https://www.timeout.com/london/art/top-20-public-sculptures-in-london |website=Time Out London |access-date=6 January 2021 |language=en}} Titled ''A bullet from a shooting star'', the sculpture forms part of [The Line](/source/The_Line_(sculpture_trail)), London’s first dedicated public art walk, which also features work by [Anthony Gormley](/source/Anthony_Gormley) and [Anish Kapoor](/source/Anish_Kapoor). The artist’s first permanent London landmark was completed in 2017. ''Six pins and half a dozen needles'' (2017) creates the illusion that the front of a building on Fulham Palace Road has been dramatically cracked into two halves.{{cite web |title=Alex Chinneck Unveils First Permanent Artwork at Assembly London |url=https://www.artlyst.com/news/alex-chinneck-unveils-first-permanent-artwork-assembly-london/ |website=Artlyst |access-date=6 January 2021}} In 2018, Chinneck was commissioned to create a temporary intervention for a development site in [Ashford](/source/Ashford%2C_Kent). His installation ''Open to the Public'' created the illusion that the walls of a 1960s office block had been unzipped to reveal the interior. The following year, in [Italy](/source/Italy), the artist created the same feat on a larger scale, unzipping the walls and floor of a seemingly historic Milanese building for [Milan Design Week](/source/Milan_Design_Week). The installation ''A sprinkle of light and a spoonful of night'' was named by [Dezeen](/source/Dezeen) as one of the top ten art installations of 2019.{{cite web |title=Dezeen's top 10 installations of 2019 |url=https://www.dezeen.com/2019/12/15/dezeen-top-10-installations-2019/ |website=Dezeen |access-date=6 January 2021 |language=en |date=15 December 2019}} For his most recent public intervention, ''Alphabetti Spaghetti'' (2019), the artist has tied a series of traditional red pillar post boxes into knots. The artwork appeared overnight in three towns across England.{{cite web |title=Artist Alex Chinneck ties post boxes in knots across the UK for his latest public artwork |url=https://artdaily.cc/news/117172/Artist-Alex-Chinneck-ties-post-boxes-in-knots-across-the-UK-for-his-latest-public-artwork#.X_Wj_-lKiz4 |website=artdaily.cc |access-date=6 January 2021 |language=English}} ''The Guardian'' has called Chinneck a "master of architectural illusion".{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/oct/02/alex-chinneck-covent-garden-mid-air-trick-architectural-illusion|title=Property boom: Alex Chinneck's brain-spinning trick in Covent Garden|last=Wainwright|first=Oliver|date=2 October 2014|work=[The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian)|accessdate=25 November 2014}} Alex Chinneck won the 33rd GNMH AWARD. ==Selected works== *''Telling the Truth Through False Teeth'' (2012) *''[From the Knees of my Nose to the Belly of my Toes](/source/From_the_Knees_of_my_Nose_to_the_Belly_of_my_Toes)'' (2013) *''Under the Weather but Over the Moon'' (2013) *''Take my Lightning but Don't Steal my Thunder'' (2014) *''[A Pound of Flesh for 50p](/source/A_Pound_of_Flesh_for_50p)'' (2014) *''Pick Yourself Up and Pull Yourself Together'' (2015) *''A Bullet from a Shooting Star'' (2015){{cite web |title=Alex Chinneck |url=https://the-line.org/artist/alex-chinneck/ |website=The Line |accessdate=6 August 2020 |language=en}} *''Six pins and half a dozen needles'' (2017) *''Open to the public'' (2018) *''A sprinkle of light and a spoonful of night'' (2019) *''Alphabetti Spaghetti'' (2019) *''Loop-de-Loop Canal Boat'' (2024) ==Gallery== File:From the knees of my nose to the belly of my toes.jpg|''From the knees of my nose to the belly of my toes'' File:Under the weather but over the moon.jpg|''Under the weather but over the moon'' File:Alex Chinneck - A bullet from a shooting star - 2016-04-17.jpg|A bullet from a shooting star 2015 File:A pound of flesh for 50p (The Melting House) (15617759019).jpg|A pound of flesh for 50p (The Melting House) File:Alex Chinneck - Straight jacket star jumps - 2017-10-27.jpg|Straight jacket star jumps File:"Alex Chinneck" Art sculpture in West London (40563285451).jpg|Art sculpture in West London File:Alphabetti Spaghetti sculpture by Alex Chinneck - Canning Town, London.jpg|''Alphabetti Spaghetti'' in Canning Town, London ==References== {{Reflist|30em}} == External links == {{Commons category}} *{{Official website}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Chinneck, Alex}} Category:British male sculptors Category:21st-century British sculptors Category:People educated at Bedford Modern School Category:1984 births Category:Living people Category:Place of birth missing (living people) Category:Alumni of Chelsea College of Arts Category:21st-century British male artists --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Alex Chinneck](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Chinneck) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Chinneck?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.