A life-size bust of Victor Hugo is being gifted to the Victor Hugo Centre by internationally acclaimed sculptor and fashion designer Nicole Farhi CBE for display in Guernsey.
The bronze sculpture has been made for the Victor Hugo Centre and will be unveiled at a dinner on 1 November at the Old Government House Hotel. The event will mark the 170th anniversary of Hugo’s first arrival on the island.
Nicole Farhi (pictured) and her husband, award-winning British playwright, Sir David Hare, will visit Guernsey for the first time to learn more about the place Hugo described as ‘the rock of hospitality and freedom’ and the island’s plans for the new Victor Hugo Centre.
Nicole Farhi CBE, MRSS, said: “Victor Hugo’s legacy of literature, poetry and art, as well as his humanitarian values of human rights, social justice, equality and freedom, have an enduring significance – in France, Guernsey and world-wide. To mark 170 years since Hugo arrived in Guernsey on 31 October 1855, I am offering this life-size bronze bust to honour the island that sheltered and inspired him. Let it stand as a small bridge between France and Guernsey, between art and conscience, between the past of exile and the present of welcome.”
Before the bust is displayed in the Victor Hugo Centre, people will be able to visit it in Candie Museum.
Larry Malcic, chair of the Victor Hugo Centre, said: “Victor Hugo is one of the world’s most recognisable literary figures and his many creative years in Guernsey will inspire islanders and increase international tourism.
“Nicole’s generous donation recalls Hugo’s lasting bond with the island, where he completed and published Les Misérables, and celebrates the Victor Hugo Centre as a focus for Guernsey’s cultural and creative community. The bust by a celebrated international artist signals to audiences in France, the UK and beyond that Guernsey was the island of inspiration for Victor Hugo, the authentic home that nurtured Hugo’s creativity and imagination.”
