This blog post was published under the 2015 to 2024 Conservative government

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Leigh Turner

Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna

Part of UK in Austria

8th November 2018 Vienna, Austria

Edmund de Waal unveils his new work at the British Embassy in Vienna (Video)

Famous British writer and artist Edmund de Waal visited Vienna this week.

It was a privilege to meet him and to hold in my hand the Hare with Amber Eyes, about which he wrote in his famous best-seller of that name.

In addition to presenting a collection of Japanese netsuke and the Ephrussi family archive to the Jewish Museum in Vienna, Edmund has also lent one of his art works to the British Residence on a long loan.  Its name is “Metamorphosen l”.

It is a beautiful thing.

The story of how the “Metamorphosen l” came to be in the residence is set out in my last blog, including how I came to meet Edmund de Waal himself.

During his latest visit to Vienna, Edmund gave a talk about “Metamorphosen l”.  A short version is below.  It is an invaluable record of how an artist works, creates, and interprets his work.

Please do take a look at the video.

2 comments on “Edmund de Waal unveils his new work at the British Embassy in Vienna (Video)”

  1. What an interesting video; as with so much of contemporary art, it adds so much to one’s appreciation to be given a description given by the artist(s) as to their intentions and meaning, or even simply by a curator. How lovely that it is available for visitors to see in the Vienna embassy.

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About Leigh Turner

I hope you find this blog interesting and, where appropriate, entertaining. My role in Vienna covers the relationship between Austria and the UK as well as the diverse work of…

I hope you find this blog interesting and, where appropriate, entertaining. My role in Vienna covers the relationship between Austria and the UK as well as the diverse work of the UN and other organisations; stories here will reflect that.

About me: I arrived in Vienna in August 2016 for my second posting in this wonderful city, having first served here in the mid-1980s. My previous job was as HM Consul-General and Director-General for Trade and Investment for Turkey, Central Asia and South Caucasus based in Istanbul.

Further back: I grew up in Nigeria, Exeter, Lesotho, Swaziland and Manchester before attending Cambridge University 1976-79. I worked in several government departments before joining the Foreign Office in 1983.

Keen to go to Africa and South America, I’ve had postings in Vienna (twice), Moscow, Bonn, Berlin, Kyiv and Istanbul, plus jobs in London ranging from the EU Budget to the British Overseas Territories.

2002-6 I was lucky enough to spend four years in Berlin running the house, looking after the children (born 1992 and 1994) and doing some writing and journalism.

To return to Vienna as ambassador is a privilege and a pleasure. I hope this blog reflects that.

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