Envision a globe resting on its North Pole. That is The World Turned Upside Down sculpture. It stands on Sheffield Street within the London School of Economics campus. Mark Wallinger created this thought-provoking artwork. He won the Turner Prize. The sculpture’s name comes from a 17th-century English ballad.
This impressive globe measures 13 feet in diameter. It was unveiled in March 2019. The sculpture reportedly cost over £200000. Alumni donations funded it.
The World Turned Upside Down sculpture sparked controversy. It showed Taiwan as a sovereign entity. This differed from the People’s Republic of China’s claim. Students from both the PRC and ROC protested. Third-party observers also reacted. These included Taiwan’s President and the British-Taiwanese All-Party Parliamentary Group. The university decided to retain the original design. It chromatically displayed the PRC and ROC as different entities. An asterisk was added beside Taiwan’s name. A placard clarified the institution’s position.
Another issue arose. A group of students vandalized the globe. They protested the omission of Palestine. Palestine is a non-member observer state in the United Nations.
The United Nations served as the authority for borders. This was as of March 2019. The sculpture’s funding came from donations. Brian Smith, an LSE alumnus, made a generous gift. Regular gifts from other alumni and friends also contributed.
Mark Wallinger was born in Chigwell, UK in 1959. He is known for his exploration of power, authority and illusion. His work interweaves the mythological, political and everyday. Wallinger poses questions about identity. He also explores social, cultural and political power structures.
Wallinger was nominated for the Turner Prize in 1995. He won it in 2007. This was for his installation State Britain. It replicated Brian Haw’s protest camp in Parliament Square. His sculpture Ecce Homo was the first work on Trafalgar Square’s empty plinth. Wallinger represented Britain at the Venice Biennale in 2001.
Public commissions are central to Wallinger’s work. Writ in Water commemorates the sealing of the Magna Carta. In 2013, Wallinger created Labyrinth. This commission spans all 270 London Underground stations.
The World Turned Upside Down shows the immensity of the oceans. It also shows the appropriate scale of Africa and South America. All place names are rebranded. They can be read from this new direction.
The LSE installed a plaque below the sculpture. It states that the borders and place names do not imply endorsement by LSE. This concerns the legal status of any territory or borders.
The World Turned Upside Down is freely accessible. It is located behind the Peacock Theatre. It stands among the LSE buildings.