Aesop’s Fables sculpture exhibition

Chosen for its dramatic views and approaches, Hyde Hall’s Dry Garden provides a theatrical backdrop to the pieces. Against the sharp and architectural shapes of Mediterranean planting, the sculptures appear to come alive and capture the life-like qualities of the animals in bronze.

Through careful placement each sculpture can be approached in many ways, allowing you to find your own path as you discover the 11 animals, including a raven, fox, cat, swallow, duck, owl, whippets, hares, a mare and foal.

Aesop was a storyteller who lived in ancient Greece. Over the years, his stories have been reinterpreted in many different ways, but they remain as fresh and poignant today as they were to the Ancient Greeks.

One of Aesop’s most famous fables tells the story of a tortoise who, ridiculed by a hare for being slow, challenges it to a race and wins! The moral of the tale being that you can be more successful doing things slowly and steadily than by acting quickly and carelessly.

Susan Bacon studied sculpture and drawing at the City and Guilds Art School and the Royal Academy, and is based in the East of England.

Marcus Cornish trained at the Royal College of Art and now practises from his studio in Sussex. Both artists have taught at the Royal Drawing School, a not-for-profit educational organisation.