In 1996, Kate Bush spent some time at the Royal College of Art, working on a bronze sculpture inspire by Billie Holiday, entitled ‘Strange Fruit’. The sculpture had a stone base that measured 15″ x 13″, the sculpture itself had a height of 7½”.
The work was sold at an auction during a charity dinner at the Saatchi Gallery in North London on 4 February 1997 and apparently sold for 600 pounds. The proceeds benefited the War Child charity.
Kate about Strange Fruit
Billie Holiday is one of my favourite singers. She is still a great inspiration. I sang with a band when I was eighteen and always wore a flower behind my ear to be like her: I felt it brought me luck. This sculpture shares its name with one of her favourite songs. I’ve tried to depict her mouth in mid-song growing among the flowers like “Strange Fruit.”
