Big bang theory: Peter Kennard’s radical Hay Wain with Cruise Missiles © Peter Kennard
many artists he influenced. One of the most subversive was Peter Kennard, who started producing radical paintings and photomontages after his involvement in the 1968 anti-Vietnam War protests. Perhaps his most famous work was a very unusual take on our hero’s iconic landscape. Created in 1980, Hay Wain with Cruise Missiles sees the wain, or cart, carrying a shocking load – three nuclear warheads! “The Hay Wain is the classic painting of rural Britain and I wanted to completely transform it,” Kennard has explained. “The basis of montage is you start with two things, but by putting them together you create a third meaning. “Well, back in the early 1980s, Cruise missiles were arriving at Greenham Common (in Berkshire) and we were told the mobile missile launchers would circulate for miles around. ‘But don’t worry,’ the government said. ‘They’ll melt into the countryside.’ Those words inspired the image. I wanted to make people aware this was going on.” The increasing use of RAF bases for the US bomber fleet, many of which were in Suffolk, was also a factor, along with a Ministry of Defence leaflet that
portrayed the missiles in delicate watercolours. Kennard worked on a printed reproduction of Constable’s painting. Once completed it did not hang in galleries, but was mass-produced onto placards used in the numerous Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament demonstrations. Hay Wain with Cruise Missiles is not on public display, but is held in the Tate’s collection. It was purchased from the artist in 2007. Surprisingly, Constable’s original version failed to create a big bang back in 1821, so he would no doubt be astounded by the explosion of interest it
Double take: Cat Auburn and Estella Castle’s live re-creation of the painting © Cat Auburn and Estella Castle
would cause in Kennard’s hands. Passports have practically been rendered redundant by the pandemic, but did you know that Constable and The Hay Wain feature inside the ones issued from 2015 to 2019? The Passport Office redesigns its 34 pages every five years in order to foil fraudsters. And back in 2015, they chose the theme Creative United Kingdom. And who better to showcase British art than Mr C? Constable's face is embossed on page 10 and The Hay Wain is on page 11. Both overlay a map of the Dedham Vale. By comparison, the 2020 issue has very little artwork. The burgundycoloured Constable one will still be around for a while, though, as passports obviously last 10 years. The Hay Wain is popular worldwide, not least in Commonwealth countries as it reminds expats of their British roots. Inspired by the printed reproductions on their grandparents’ walls and placemats, two New Zealand artists travelled to Flatford in 2016 to stage a live recreation of the six feet canvas. Cat Auburn and Estella Castle sourced a hay cart and three Suffolk Punches, and persuaded local volunteers to dress ‘
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