Oh Beautiful World

Description

**Material**: burr horse chestnut. *Oh Beautiful World!* is the centrepiece of a special commission for Reading Museum by Eleanor Lakelin (2020), to memorialise Oscar Wilde’s time in confinement in Reading Gaol (1895 - 1897). Supported by the Contemporary Art Society’s Rapid Response Fund, in partnership with Frieze London. The commission is made from the horse chestnut trees that stood around the Gaol. Sadly, they had to be felled recently due to decay, but their timbre has found new purpose in this astonishing piece. Learn more about *Oh Beautiful World!* [at Reading Museum's online exhibition](https://www.readingmuseum.org.uk/explore/online-exhibitions/oh-beautiful-world). Scan by [Huntress Imaging](https://www.huntressimaging.com/)