Luna Park visits Gunwharf Quays

Aspex Portsmouth is thrilled to announce the temporary relocation of the iconic Luna Park sculpture, as it visits Portsmouth’s vibrant Gunwharf Quays.

Visitors to Gunwharf Quays will have the chance to discover the popular public artwork, “I Stand for Language. I Speak for Truth. I Shout for History.” Created by internationally renowned artists Heather Peak and Ivan Morison, the bronze sculpture pays homage to the original Luna Park installation that captivated over 100,000 visitors on Southsea Common. Designed as a tribute to Luna Park, the sculpture has temporarily moved from its home on Southsea Common to a new location on the waterfront at Gunwharf Quays, next to the Spinnaker Tower.

About Luna Park

First unveiled in 2021 on Southsea Common, the bronze sculpture stands as a tribute to the original Luna Park installation – a towering 16-metre dinosaur that became known locally as the “Southsea Dinosaur.” The original Luna Park, installed in 2010, was created by Heather Peak and Ivan Morison referencing the myth of the Ultrasaurus, a “dinosaur that never was,” as palaeontologist Professor Jim Jensen’s 1970’s discovery was later determined to be a mix of various species. The sculpture became a beloved landmark for locals and visitors, a place for friends and families to meet day and night, and a defining moment in Portsmouth’s cultural history.

While the sculpture was originally planned to tour locations across the UK including Firstsite in Colchester and Chapter in Cardiff, it met an untimely end on 1 October, 2010, when it was destroyed by fire in a fierce storm just days before it was due to leave Portsmouth. Today, the bronze sculpture commemorates the legacy of the beloved ‘Southsea Dinosaur’, inviting visitors to rediscover the Luna Park story at its new Gunwharf Quays location.

About the Artists

Heather Peak and Ivan Morison have worked together as an artist duo since 2003, establishing an ambitious collaborative practice that transcends the divisions between art, architecture and theatre. Heather Peak was born in Desborough, UK in 1973 and Ivan Morison was born in Istanbul, Turkey in 1974, they currently live and work in Herefordshire. The Morisons’ artworks blend factual recall with fictionalisation, merging information into a shifting narrative that builds on the mythology of Heather and Ivan’s lives and the lives of the people they encounter.

Find out more about Heather Peak and Ivan Morrison here