Grand Tour II: Homage to Soane (after Gandy)

Celebrating the legacy of the neoclassical architect Sir John Soane, Grand Tour II: Homage to Soane (after Gandy) presents Joseph Gandy’s vision of Soane’s ‘unbuilt’ projects (1820), as if they had been built. By photographing examples of existing neoclassical architecture around the UK, Allchurch collated a comprehensive ‘kit of parts’ from which to construct Soane’s designs. These composite buildings are placed in a hybrid Arcadian landscape comprised from numerous English gardens (from Stourhead to Castle Howard), to the rugged mountains of Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh and Scarfell Pike in the Lake District.

The artwork is a companion piece to ‘Grand Tour: In Search of Soane (after Gandy)’ 2012, which celebrates Soane’s ‘built’ projects. Recreating Joseph Gandy’s remarkable composition from 1818, Allchurch toured the country to photograph Soane’s extant architecture, presenting them together, as though models in a room. Both works will be shown in a solo exhibition at the Sir John Soane’s Museum in Spring/Summer 2018.

This work is available as a transparency on LED lightbox, or as an archival C-type print mounted onto aluminium and framed behind UV + AR Artglass. The edition is of 20 + 2APs, irrespective of the format.