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The Great Britain Guide

Public art & sculpture · London

The Diver

The Diver in England London, United Kingdom.

Interpretation Board - geograph.org.uk - 6432991

Glyn Baker — CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons licence

Plan your visit

Typical visit
1 h–2 h

About

The Diver is a public sculpture in England London, United Kingdom, dating from 2000. Britain's public art ranges from Henry Moore reclining figures and Anthony Gormley installations to the Angel of the North and the surviving statues of empire.

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From the Wikipedia article

The Diver (full name:The Diver:Regeneration) is a sculpture by John Kaufman located in the River Thames at Rainham, east London. The Diver is made of galvanised steel bands on a steel frame and is 15 feet (4.6 m) tall and approximately 6 feet (1.8 m) wide and is partly submerged every high tide and totally submerged by spring tides. The Diver is constructed from (approx.) 300 metres (980 ft) of galvanised steel banding and 3000 nuts and bolts and weighs 3 tons. It is secured 26 feet (7.9 m) into the Thames mud.

Excerpt from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0. See the source article linked in Sources below.

Background

History

John Kaufman (1941–2002) was a self-taught sculptor living and working in the London Borough of Havering, East London. Inspired by prominent public artist Don Rankin to create his own piece of public art, John embarked on the Diver project in 1995. Initially he financed the project himself but later received funding from Cleanaway, a local refuse company. Receiving mentoring from Don Rankin, support from the Havering London Borough Council in the person of Adam Nardell and additional financial support from friend, John Bowyer, John was able to complete and site the statue in August 2000 in its current location. It was installed at 3:30 am in order to avoid river traffic. The piece is…

Sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Coordinates
51.4974, 0.1824
Established
2000

Sources

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Frequently asked questions

Where is The Diver?
The Diver is in London, in the United Kingdom — coordinates 51.4974°, 0.1824°.
When was The Diver built?
The Diver dates to 2000.