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The Guardian
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘I don't have a relationship with my face': Judi Dench models for a live sculpture
It began as a blob: a 12kg lump of clay the size of a watermelon. Three hours later, it had become Judi Dench's head, 50% larger than usual, twinkle-eyed even in terracotta. At Claridge's hotel in London on Monday evening, Frances Segelman hosted her latest ticking-clock sculpt: paying guests watch as she kneads a celebrity bust on stage, the subject sitting quietly beside her. In the past, Segelman has done Simon Rattle, Joan Collins, Joanna Lumley, Boris Johnson, Mr Motivator and major-league royals, almost always for charity. This was a fundraiser for lymphoedema research. Ticket sales raised over £20,000 and it's hoped that, when it's cast in bronze, the finished piece will fetch double that (St George's hospital Charity in Tooting, London, has begun accepting bids). The pair began a little before the audience arrived, sitting on a platform in the hotel's mirrored, slightly chilly art deco ballroom. Segelman, 76, glamorous in black lace gown despite mucky hands; Dench, 90, immaculate in cream coat with grey shawl and sausage-shaped water bottle. Another throw appeared courtesy of her daughter, Finty Williams. 'Oooh hello!' said Dench. 'I'm swathed in blankets, that's wonderful, thank you.' Beside her were a cappuccino, bouquet and numbered helium balloons in honour of last December's landmark birthday - in fact, she'll soon be nearer 91. The lump became flesh. Nostrils were poked out, Covid swab-style. Segelman measured Dench's skull using wooden tongs and metal callipers – half tailor, half surgeon. 'It's weird,' said Williams. 'At first, it didn't look like her. Then after 10 minutes I was like: 'Oh yes, that is Ma.'' It wasn't unnerving? 'I'm quite used to seeing her bigger than she normally is.' Then the binbags of sludge were removed and guests entered: around 200 supporters of the lymphoedema charity, which has been working with Dench's friend, photographer Gemma Levine. They first met in 1989, when Levine was dispatched to snap Dench at the National Theatre, who was playing Gertrude opposite Daniel Day-Lewis's Hamlet. 'We kept in touch,' says Levine. 'And once I had lymphoedema I kept asking Judi to do events and she never said no.' Levine studied under Henry Moore. His 'hard' art would have been a bad fit for her friend, she thinks. 'Judi's a great subject. She's a true professional and someone with great depth and sensibility and humour. I don't know anyone else like that – and I know a lot of film and theatre people.' An address about lymphoedema began the evening proper: its causes, symptoms, incidence and cost to the NHS of late diagnosis. It is, said Dr Peter Mortimer of St George's, a 'hidden epidemic' with 'little recognition'. He talked the audience through elephantiasis and how 'a big arm, following lymph gland removal after breast cancer surgery' can be fatal should the swelling spread to the central organs. Waiters offered fizz and nibbles. Segelman then spoke, asking the audience to mingle while she worked. ('Talk makes me quicker.') They duly milled, and debated in spitting distance of the artist how she was doing. 'It's like focus,' said one accountant. 'It goes in and out. It's out at the moment, but it'll go back in.' His favourite Dench role was M in Skyfall; informal canvassing of the crowd for her key performances saw a big win for the James Bond films, but also strong results for the sitcoms As Time Goes By and A Fine Romance, as well as the Iris Murdoch biopic (there were a lot of doctors in the room). One GP reported he'd seen almost all her Shakespeare productions and been in love with her for four decades, while the composer Karl Jenkins – whose music soundtracked some of the evening – remembered seeing Dench in Twelfth Night when he was a schoolboy. There was quiet as Simon Callow recited Christina Rossetti's A Birthday. Were Maggie Smith present, he said, 'she'd say how wonderful it's been today to watch Judi turn into a monument'. Williams read a self-penned poem to her mother, To the Moon and Back, which brought both women – and a few others – to tears. A soprano sang Happy Birthday. Cake came. As the evening wore on, Dench swapped her coffee for champagne. She did not speak publicly but, during a brief break, told the Guardian she was enjoying the experience, despite her macular degeneration now being so advanced she would be unable to assess the results. 'I can't see a thing,' she said. 'I can't really see your face and you're right in front of me.' She gestured round. 'I'm just in the play. I sit on the stage. It's very nice and Frances is brilliant, as is the charity. I just hear this sea of friendly people.' Her sense of her own features hasn't changed with age. 'I don't have a relationship with my face,' she said. 'Never have!' If she couldn't appreciate the finished bust visually, would she have a feel? An impish grin. 'If they let me.' And as Segelman fiddled with the chin and entered the final furlong, Dench did toy with a spare ball of terracotta. 'When she got hold of that clay,' said Segelman later, 'she was loving it. She could do something with it.' It's not just a passing interest, reports Williams. Her mother attends a weekly art class that includes pottery. Like Segelman, Dench prefers figurative work – just last week, says Williams, she shaped a little Bottom from A Midsummer Night's Dream. Finally the head was complete. Segelman would make some small tweaks in her studio the next day, she said, as an assistant spritzed it. 'But I'm not worried. It went well. I didn't meet Judi before I sculpted her. That's hard. But she was so sweet and kind and she never moved.' Segelman was surprised by her youthfulness. 'She has a cuteness. Pixie-like.' Williams concurred. 'I think Ma's got like quite an elvish little face and I think a lot of people want her to take up more space than she does. To give her a bigger, cookie cutter outline.' Her verdict was complimentary, especially the jawline. And what does she think her mother would make of it? 'She's a Quaker so she's not a big fan of looking at herself. And she wouldn't really be able to see it any more. But I think she'll love touching it.' As everyone headed out of the ballroom, two footmen edged gently by, bearing a huge metal box containing Dench's still-wet supersized head. Guests gulped and shrank back. The possibility of a slip was a sobering thought on the way to the exit.
Daily Mail
19-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Dame Judi Dench is recreated in clay as royal sculptor crafts bust of actress in front of live audience at charity event to celebrate her 90th birthday
Dame Judi Dench has been recreated in clay after an artist whose portfolio includes the royal family crafted a bust of her. The English acting legend, 90, was sculpted live in front of an audience by royal sculptor Frances Segelman for a charity event in London on Monday. While also celebrating Dame Judi's decades-long career and 90th birthday, the event aimed to raise awareness and money for the Lymphoedema Research Fund (LRF) at St George's Hospital Charity. The event was hosted by Dame Judi's longtime friend, photographer and St George's Hospital Charity ambassador Gemma Levine, who was diagnosed with lymphoedema - a chronic condition that causes swelling of the body's tissues - 15 years ago. Gemma said: 'Dame Judi has given so much to the world through her art, it felt only right to honour her in this way while supporting a cause that's so close to my heart.' Artist Frances, known for her high-profile portfolio which includes sculptures of the King and the late Queen, crafted the majority of the sculpture of Dame Judi in just two hours front of an audience of 200 guests. She will complete and cast the sculpture of Dame Judi in bronze at her studio for it to be sold to raise funds for the charity. Speaking about the live sculpting process, Frances said: 'It's really quite magical, funnily enough, because it's such fast work, it's like crazy mental work. 'I don't know anyone that can get a bust finished in two hours and look exactly like someone. It's such fast work, I do actually get personality in it.' The evening brought together figures from the arts and healthcare industry at Claridge's in London, with Dame Judi taking part to help raise money for the cause. Lymphoedema is a long-term condition which causes swelling in the body's tissue, usually developing in the arms or legs, according to the NHS website. Discussing why she wanted to get involved, royal sculptor Frances explained that she attended a similar event last year and was shocked by the demographic that had attended and were visibly suffering from the condition. She said: 'What really, really got to me was there were young people in the audience, really young people, teenagers with this awful condition, swollen arms, swollen hands, and I felt so sad. 'I really felt I had to do something to help. 'I was quite amazed and shocked by it. And in fact my late husband, Sir Jack Petchey, he passed away about eight to seven months ago and he had lymphoedema. 'He didn't have cancer, but he had the most unbelievable swollen legs, which you often find in older people when they're not walking around a lot, and it's such a horrible thing to have because their legs swell and they can't really walk properly anywhere.' The event is expected to raise more than £40,000 for the Lymphoedema Research Fund at St George's Hospital Charity to support its advances in the diagnosis and treatment of the condition. The sculpture of Judi comes after bosses of the high profile 'science Oscars' edited out a risky sexual gag aimed at the actress, made by J ames Corden, in their final official broadcast of this year's Breakthrough Awards. When the former chat show host delivered the joke about the English actress having sex with a leading US doctor it stunned the A-list Hollywood audience. However the raunchy comment was removed completely from the official broadcast of the entire show on YouTube last month. No explanation was given about the removal of the lurid sexual gag which centred on the acting icon having carnal relations with Dr Anthony Fauci - the former Chief Medical Advisor to the President Of The United States. The evening brought together figures from the arts and healthcare industry at Claridge's in London, with Dame Judi taking part to help raise money for the cause The Gavin and Stacey creator, 46, said: 'Tonight is the one night that Hollywood and science come together, other than of course, that one magical evening where Dr. Fauci had a one night stand with Dame Judi Dench.' Cameras panned to Olivia Wilde, who once dated Harry Styles, and she raised her eyebrows. The joke was not met warmly by the rest of the audience with many not laughing. The crowd was made up of figures from science, mathematics, and fundamental physics, along with Hollywood A-listers such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Lizzo, and Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot. In the final broadcast it featured James saying: 'Tonight is the one night that Hollywood and science come together' but cuts the Dame Judi comment, as James continues 'And Hollywood has come out tonight.' Dame Judi was not present at the awards earlier this month which was held in a space aircraft hanger and recognised winners for their scientific achievements with leading futures from the entertainment, sports, technology and business.
