An Grantham artist and sculptor says he has saved taxpayers nearly £100,000 by creating and displaying a statue of Margaret Thatcher.
Mark Robla, 34, placed the carved plaster head on a pike on top the plinth at St Peter’s Hill green at 4am this morning, Sunday, February 21.
The bronze statue of Britain’s first female Prime Minister is planned for the site was paid for by public subscription after a proposal to erect it in London’s Parliament Square was rejected.
The plinth and official statue will stand more 20ft high but the unveiling ceremony – set to cost taxpayers £100,000 – has been postponed amid the pandemic.
In the meantime, Mark has completed his own tribute to the Iron Lady called Shadow of Power.
He said: “I saved the council loads of money and displayed my new piece.
“It depicts Margret Thatcher’s head stuck on to a pike made from an office chair, standing at 5ft 3in on the 10ft plinth while still clasping her iconic handbag at the base, all carved completely from plaster.
“I paid about £5 for the chair and took it apart. There were two metal poles inside which I made into a pike and the base of the chair helps balance the sculpture.
“It took about four months to complete and with materials it cost about £100 in total.”
Mark, whose surname Roberts is the same as Margaret Thatcher’s maiden name, is originally from Wales and now lives in Grantham.
He said: “A lot of my thoughts about Margaret Thatcher come from being Welsh.
“Mines closed down and she was never a positive figure.”
He said that he had to rethink the original design for a full body sculpture because frustratingly he couldn’t get the arms to stay on.
Mark added: “Location of a sculpture is one of the most important things and my sculpture would not have the same impact unless it was placed on the same plinth where the bronze statue will be placed.
“I think what I did was all legal. I have done this sort of thing before.
“I was there at 4am in a hi-vis vest. I did not break in or damage the plinth.”
The official bronze statue of Margaret Thatcher was bought by Grantham Museum, South Kesteven District Council and a Public Memorials Appeal.
The council’s leadership previously agreed plans to underwrite an estimated £100k on the unveiling, and tried to reassure critics the money would be recuperated by fundraising.
But scrutiny councillors later called on them to show how that can be done.
An estimated £50,200 will go towards production and account management, audio/media for guests, staging, seating, an unveiling mechanism and crew labour.
About £24,250 will include essential costs for public safety like medical support, stewarding/security, barriers, road closures, guest refreshments, event infrastructure and pre-event security.
There is also an optional extra cost of £35,040 which is not included in the £100,000 that could go towards a sound system, stage lighting, shelter for the seated area, a web page with live streaming as well as filming and editing of the event and promotional material.
If this is included, the event is looking at an estimated cost of £109,490.
Sculptor Douglas Jennings applying the finishing touches to the official statue of Margaret Thatcher
Grantham-born Margaret Thatcher nee Roberts died in April 2013 at the age of 87.
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