While Barry Flanagan has also made sculptures of other animals, such as elephants and horses, he is best known for his triumphant leaping and dancing hares. Flanagan’s sculptures are by no means restricted by the use of this repeated motif; each hare being unique with its own dynamic gesture. Always celebratory and life-affirming, they dance, use technical equipment, engage in sports and, as we see here, play musical instruments.

The hands-on process of modelling in clay allows the artist to invest the work with a dynamic sense of movement. The piece is cast in bronze, but the marks made by the artist’s hand are evident and as a result, the surface has a tactile quality. The work has a spontaneous feel, echoing the speed of drawing, the freedom of modelling in clay, and the curiosity and playfulness of the hare itself.