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ELEANOR CARDOZO
little sister was much better, but
I used to dream about being the
best!
Did you have any “hiccups”
during the process of creation?
The original piece I made was at
half life size, and it was a pure
joy to create it as the model was
so perfectly proportioned that
every line looked beautiful.
However, the large 3m version
was physically very difficult. I
carved it, scaling up from the
original, and it took six weeks
and was very heavy.
IN September 2011 a 3 meter-high beautiful bronze sculpture of a rhythmic gymnast was installed at Heathrow’s Terminal 5, where the majority of the Olympic Family will arrive in the summer to celebrate the 2012 London Games. It is part of the Expo Fine Art gallery,
which honors the best of British sportsmen and women in the UK’s
artistic journey toward the Olympics.
Its creator is Eleanor Cardozo, described by one of her collectors as
“the greatest unexploited talent in the fine art world today.” Renowned
for the precision of her figurative bronze sculpture, Eleanor’s work can
be found in private and public collections throughout the world.
Cardozo studied sculpture at The City and Guilds School of Art in her
native London, and portraiture at the Cecil Graves school in Florence,
Italy. She currently lives in Switzerland, is married and has three children. Vera Atkinson, who covers rhythmic for IG, caught up with
Eleanor to find out more about the creation of “Ribbon On World.”
Where did the idea came from?
I think rhythmic gymnasts are
the most elegant of all gymnasts
and they never cease to amaze
me with their ability to concentrate on so many things at once.
I was asked to sculpt a young
rhythmic gymnast in California
and spent many hours watching,
drawing, photographing her and
her team train and was totally
blown away by the discipline,
beauty, grace and skill involved.
I decided to create a collection
of bronze gymnasts from that
experience, using different gymnasts as models. It was a very
joyful project.
Did you use a specific model?
A young, 16-year-old, unknown
gymnast from California called
Christy, whose proportions are
the most perfect I have ever
worked from. She was also able
to hold a pose for so long it
made my work much easier.
Have you been involved in
gymnastics? Yes, I used to
compete as a gymnast for
County Dorset as a child from 8-
16 years. I wasn’t very good, my
www.eleanorcardozo.com
