Feeling eggstravagant?

If you have been to London recently you will have spotted that a whole host of painted eggs have appeared around town. These are the star attractions in the Fabergé Big Egg Hunt, which has placed 210 eggs, decorated and adapted by different artists, in 12 ‘zone’ areas of the city, from the South Bank to Sloane Square. The idea has been that they form a giant charity Easter egg hunt around London, which offers a different way of looking at the city. Texting to declare how many eggs you found also entered you in the prize draw to win the coveted Diamond Jubilee Egg. If you’re feeling rich you can also bid to own one of the eggs after this weekend. For the last week, till Monday, all of the eggs are collected together in Covent Garden – talk about putting all your eggs in one basket!

I haven’t done the egg hunt in a concerted way, but I’ve enjoyed looking out for them on my travels around London, especially as some of them appear in unexpected places. My favourite spot was one egg poised on a balcony on a side street off Piccadilly. The designs have varied from decorative patterns that cover the whole egg surface, to more narrative images that use the idea of an egg, to sculptural works that build out from or subvert the egg shape. The artists have ranged from the Chapman Brothers to Mulberry. I find these much more successful than the elephants, bears, or pigs that we have had before in London or feature in other cities. The egg is a simple and versatile yet iconic shape that has allowed a breadth of design, and has certainly caused me to engage differently with the cityscape that I know and love. 

I did feel, however, that the hunt would have worked better had the eggs not been on plinths, then they would have seemed more like they had been placed rather than installed. This would also have allowed a more versatile range of sites, and perhaps a greater number of designs that subverted the egg shape. Nonetheless, they offer an egg-cellent way to wish you a happy Easter from spoons on trays.