The English Landmark stolen by an artist and brazenly put on show

A visual artist from Ecuador, Mr Oscar Santillan, 34, has visited Scafell Pike in Cumbria. He took in the stunning views, trudged to the very top of England’s highest peak (978m) and, when there, decided not to leave empty handed.

Instead, he cut off the top inch of the mountain and took it back with him.

Scafell Pike is England’s highest mountain peak and to remove its top has been labelled by some as plain stealing. Many in Cumbria and elsewhere are, perhaps understandably, incensed. The artist has installed it alongside works in the Copperfield Gallery, which is close to the Tate Modern in London.

The top of the mountain has been placed on a plinth to create an art work called “The Intruder”. The gallery’s description reads:

“The artist has taken the uppermost inch of the highest mountain in England. 

“An entire nation’s height is modified and its landscape redefined by means of a single precise action. The artist explores the way in which human categories are imposed on nature: the largest, the tallest, the most powerful.”

Livid locals, however, are calling for its immediate return and reinstatement.

The Managing Director of Cumbrian Tourism, Mr Ian Stephens, said 

“This is taking the mickey and we want the top of our mountain back”.  

Terry Abraham, who made a film chronicling a year in the life of the mountain, said:

“The message of my film was to inspire people and enlighten them about the heritage of the area and to treat it with respect. 

“But then you get this artist who has essentially vandalised the mountain which sends out completely the wrong message.” 

This is not so much as taking the mickey as taking the mountain.

LCB/SRJ                                             www.PropertySurveying.co.uk                                    02.04.15