Sky Arts Art 50
ProjectsNews ArchiveAboutHome

'Magniloquent Cartilage: A Constitution for the UK' by Lemn Sissay MBE

Acclaimed poet, Lemn Sissay MBE, was commissioned by Art 50 to write a new constitution for the UK. 'Magniloquent Cartilage' is a ‘new charter' for the UK when we leave Europe outlining 12 steps to living harmoniously. It was interpreted through a light art installation made by Mary Branson at Salisbury Cathedral named ‘Ladders of Light’. Lemn performed 'Magniloquent Cartilage' at Salisbury Cathedral and the Barbican in February 2019. His twelve steps on the various walls and the Ladders of Light installation can be seen at Salisbury Cathedral from 5th February - 3rd April.

Put into care as a child, Sissay's poetic constitution reflects on our duty to the most vulnerable in society, particularly children. Since Britain has no written constitution, Magna Carta is cited as one of the founding documents for our democracy and rights. This modern interpretation sited in the medieval cathedral where one of the original 1215 copy is held, will make a thrilling juxtaposition.

LEMN SISSAY MBE is a poet and playwright, chancellor of the University of Manchester, associate artist at Southbank Centre, ambassador for The Children’s Reading Fund, trustee of Forward Arts Foundation, and was the official poet of the London Olympics in 2012. His Landmark Poems are installed throughout Manchester and in London at The Royal Festival Hall and The Olympic Park. His Landmark Poem, ‘Guilt of Cain’ was unveiled by Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

Thumbnail photo by Zachary Culpin

lemn_sissay_with_his_poem_photo_by_zachary_culpin.jpg
curator_jacquiline_creswell-_poet_lemn_sissay_and_artist_mary_branson_at_the_launch_of_ladders_of_light-_a_new_constitution.jpg
img_0535.jpeg
clause_9_of_lemn_sissays_magniloquent_cartilage-_part_of_ladders_of_light-_a_new_constitution_for_the_uk_installation_in_sa.jpg
clause_8_of_magniloquent_cartilage-_lemn_sissays_poem_which_is_part_of_the_ladders_of_light-_a_new_constitution_for_the_uk.jpg
clause_2_of_lemn_sissays_magniloquent_cartilage-_part_of_teh_ladders_of_light-_a_new_constitution_for_the_uk_installation_-.jpg
clause_10_of_lemn_sissays_poem_magniloquent_cartilage_photo_by_ash_mills.jpg
lemn_sissay_with_clause_6_of_magniloquent_cartilage-_in_the_ladders_of_light_a_new_constitution_for_the_uk_installation_in_s.jpg
ladders_of_light-_part_of_the_sky_arts_50_installation_in_salisbury_cathedral_-_photo_by_zachary_culpin_1_1-1.jpg
Magniloquent Cartilage: A Constitution for the UK

To see Lemn's Constitution at Salisbury Cathedral click here

Lemn Sissay 'Landmarks'

The other projects

huntington_gardens_actors_on_shoot-1.png
'Huntington Gardens' by Simon and Paul Wade
st_ives_website_pic.jpg
'St. Ives' by D.A. Nixon
an_taoidann_ban-2.png
'School Britannia' - 'An t-Aodann Ban' (Fair Hill Face)
website_pic.jpg
Art 50 Gathering
jasleen_141_rs.jpg
'Daughter of a Perpetual Foreigner' by Jasleen Kaur
cardigan.png
'School Britannia' - 'Cardigan's Corner Shop'
capture.jpg
'When We Collide: A British Songbook' by Hanbury & Groves
jack_cockers_on_shoot_image_for_social_media-1.jpg
'Me, My Nan and Oldham' by Connor Coulston
edinburgh-1.png
'School Britannia'- Edinburgh
img_9929.jpg
'Empire' by Sarah Maple
nye_thompson_-_press_shot.jpg
INSULAE [Of the Island] by Nye Thompson
boyblue_website_pic.jpg
'R.E.B.E.L' by Boy Blue
border-_promo.png
'BORDER- A VR Ride' by Abigail Conway and Laura Collier
brutish_mul1.gif
'The Battle of Heptonstall' by The Brutish Multitude
version_2.jpg
'Come Hell or High Water' by The Citizens Theatre
his_england_still_2_159045-1.jpg
'His England' by Matty Crawford and Joe Argent
dufftown_2.jpg
'Dogs and their Owners' by Dougie Wallace
crew_pic.jpg
'Small Town Politics' by Gulliver Moore and Oliver Clubb
hania_amar_2.jpg
'Stock' by Naqqash Khalid
kuba_by_janina_sabaliauskaite_3.jpg
'Sweet Dreams' by Kuba Ryniewicz
group_photo_tbai-1.jpg
'Let Me Play The Lion Too' by Told by an Idiot
boris_website.jpg
'The Last Temptation of Boris Johnson' by Jonathan Maitland
brand_identities_website_image.jpg
'ReBranding Britishness' by Common Vision
youth_manifesto-_website-1.jpg
'Youth Manifesto' by National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain and featuring Gustavo Dudamel
kyle_1-1.jpg
'Postcard from the Future - Wales'
lab_and_chi_2.png
'Automat' by Lab Ky Mo and Chi Thai
i_am_from_2.png
'School Britannia' - 'I Am From'
tiai_landscape_with_titles_1800_x_900.jpg
'This is an Island?' by DanceXchange
the-scary-bikers-web-1.jpg
'The Scary Bikers' by John Godber OBE
split_britches_image_from_barbican.jpg
'Unexploded Ordinances' By Split Britches
one_pic.jpg
'Shepherding the Uplands' by Phil Hatcher-Moore
bowler_hat_orange_-_from_her-1.jpg
'And The Band Keeps Marching On' by Martha Barnett
schoolbritannia.jpg
'School Britannia' - Poetry Anthology
website_pic.jpg
'Backbone of Our Land' by Folkworks
Nitin Sawhney presents Brexit - A Rational Anthem for a National Tantrum
'BREXIT: A Rational Anthem for a National Tantrum' by Nitin Sawhney CBE
maddogs_website_pic.jpg
'Mad Dogs' by Gadzooks
rose_davies_big_drawing.jpg
'Here Be Dragons: A New British Flag' by Rosie Scribblah
5_-_shaq_-min.jpg
'We Are British' by Rio Blake
big_sing_website_pic.jpg
'Spirit of Our Nation' by Peter Brewis and Sharon Durant
mg_9602-1.jpg
'Window Wanderland' by Lucy Reeves Khan
by_john_minihan_2.jpg
'Postcard from the Future- Northern Ireland' by Paul McVeigh
britbot_website_pic.jpg
'Britbot' by Libby Heaney
44439650_1763665660412301_749853275043800064_n.jpg
UnFOLD: Hope and Water by Lyrix Organix
website_pic.jpg
'Postcard from the Future- Scotland' by Al Kennedy
2_sides-1.png
'School Britannia' - '2 Sides'
dreda_say_mitchell.jpg
'Postcard from the Future- England' by Dreda Say Mitchell and Tony Mason
the_brink_1s.png
'The Brink' by Simon Armitage CBE
artist_mary_branson_with_ladders_of_light-_part_of_the_sky_arts_50_installation_in_salisbury_cathedral_-_photo_by_zachary_cu.jpg
'Ladders of Light: A Constitution for the UK ' by Mary Branson
ehlu8qdg-1.jpeg
'Declaration of Independence' by Barby Assante