last updated on June 29, 2009 15:54

Para dressage rider Lee Pearson CBE has had his torso sculpted out of marble by top artist Ben Dearnley. The work of art is one of a number of commissions for a London 2012 art project and features Lee’s torso and the bottom half of face then coming out of his back is the head of a horse.

Ben Dearnley and his team will be creating sculptures of some of the UK’s finest athletes. He said: “The final ‘Avenue of Champions’ will present a range of Olympic and Paralympic athletes… what we are looking at is a representation of what it takes to become the very best in the world at any particular sport”. Each sculpture has been designed to accentuate the power and skill of the particular athlete.

In total 10 athletes have been included in the project including sprinter Christine Ohuruogu, MBE, Paralympic basketball champion Ade Adepitan, world record breaking swimmer Mark Foster and Olympic diver Leon Taylor. It is hoped that like the Ancient Greek Olympians, these sculptures will immortalise forever the perfection of our athlete’s bodies and the nobility of their sport.

It has been proposed that all of Ben’s sculptures will stand within the grounds of the London 2012 park which will be named the ‘Avenue of Champions’ a thoroughfare for all who visit the games.

As well as being the subject of a work of art Pearson has also recently invited a number of artists with disabilities to his equestrian centre and stables in Staffordshire to give them a chance to create paintings and sculptures of horses.

The collection of sculptures are on view at the Belgravia Gallery in London and online here.