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Rachel Whiteread

Sue Lawley's castaway is artist Rachel Whiteread.

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the artist Rachel Whiteread.

She came to public prominence in 1993 with the life-size concrete cast of a Victorian house in East London. The sculpture prompted a public debate about what conceptual art is - the house was destroyed shortly afterwards. At the same time, Whiteread was named winner of the Turner Prize at the age of 30. She had studied sculpture at the Slade School of Fine Art and became one of the generation of Young British Artists, with her work displayed alongside that of Damien Hirst. Her most controversial work - a memorial to 65,000 Austrian Jews who died in the Holocaust - was unveiled in Vienna in 2000 amid heightened political tension. Much of her work focuses on casting hidden spaces, with the inside of a box as the inspiration for the 14,000 boxes which form her latest exhibit, Embankment, on display at Tate Modern, London, until the end of April.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: The Köln Concert Part 1 by Keith Jarrett
Book: A reference book on the natural history of the island
Luxury: Ink, pen, paper and correction fluid

Available now

45 minutes

Last on

Fri 3 Mar 2006 09:00

Music Played

  • PJ Harvey

    We Float

    • Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea.
    • Island.
  • Pentangle

    Light Flight

    • Pentangle Anthology.
    • Essential.
  • The Jacksons

    ABC

    • Essential Michael Jackson.
    • Epic.
  • Castaway's Favourite

    • Keith Jarrett

      The Köln Concert Part 1

      • The KΓ¶ln Concert.
      • ECM.
  • Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds

    Where the Wild Roses Grow (feat. Kylie Minogue)

    • Where the Wild Roses Grow.
    • Mute.
  • Charles Gounod

    Ave Maria

    Soloist: Cecilia Bartoli

    • Voices from Heaven: Bartoli/Bocelli/Terfel/Chung.
    • Deutsche Grammophon.
  • Lionel Bart

    Oliver

    • Oliver - 1994 London Palladium cast recording.
    • First Night.
  • Johnny Cash

    Would You Lay With Me (In A Field Of Stone)

    • American 111: Solitary Man.
    • American.
  • Book Choice

    • A reference book on the natural history of the island

  • Luxury Choice

    • Ink, pen, paper and correction fluid

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Sue Lawley
Interviewed Guest Rachel Whiteread

Broadcasts

  • Sun 26 Feb 2006 11:15
  • Fri 3 Mar 2006 09:00

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