Fashion designer's bronze of Victor Hugo unveiled
BBCA bronze sculpture of French writer Victor Hugo has been unveiled to mark the 170th anniversary of his arrival in Guernsey.
French fashion designer and sculptor Nicole Farhi made the bust, which was unveiled at the Old Government House Hotel on Saturday and has been gifted to the Victor Hugo Centre.
The writer spent 19 years in the Channel Islands, writing some of his most famous works there, including finishing Les Misérables in Guernsey.
Ms Farhi said her recent exhibition on miscarriages of justice had led to her "immediately feeling an affinity" with Hugo.
Hugo was a campaigner against social injustice and capital punishment, and intervened in several cases.
Ms Farhi said the exhibition had been about "us being in touch with our humanity which is exactly what Victor Hugo had been doing".
She said she had decided to show the writer as younger than he had previously been portrayed, and she had worked from photographs.
"There's a freedom you have when the person is not sitting, you can express exactly what you feel about that person.
"This is my perception of Victor Hugo."
The chairman of the proposed Victor Hugo Centre, Larry Malcic, said the gift of the bust was "a fabulous moment for the centre and for the island".
"To be unveiling this major work of art on the 170th anniversary of Hugo's arrival on the island is fantastic.
"It's the tribute of one great artist to another great artist," he added.
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