Sculpture set to be head-Turner

A head-turning sculpture of music legend Tina Turner is about to be revealed at Dreamland in Margate.

The enormous inflatable is being installed at the amusement park as the town celebrates hosting the 2019 Turner Prize later this year.

Standing at seven metres tall, the artwork will house a karaoke booth so fans of the singer, who turns 80 this year, can belt out their favourite hits.

The work has been produced by the London-based team behind the Happy Kanye display which has toured across the UK including at Bestival in 2017.

A grand unveiling next Thursday will launch the sculpture as Dreamland’s contribution to the Turner Prize – named after the English painter JMW Turner – which comes to the town in September.

The reveal at the park is also kicking-off the Tina Turner Prize – a competition to find a new Tina Turner-themed work of art to adorn Dreamland’s Mural by The Sea billboard.

Eddie Kemsley, chief executive of Dreamland, said: “Turner Prize 2019 is one of the biggest events to come to Margate – so we responded in kind.

“Margate is a haven for internationally renowned artists and the Turner Contemporary is at the heart of the town’s cultural evolution. But Margate is also – and always has been – delightfully kitsch, fun and a trendsetter. “So we wanted to create a work of art at Dreamland that would complement the Turner Prize exhibition and also show the alternative, modern and wonderfully camp side of Margate’s arts scene.”