Boxed-up Churchill is a real work of art

Central London is becoming a paradise for modernists like me. First there was the extraordinary encasement of Big Ben in sci-fi scaffolding, transforming this dinky clock tower into a NASA launchpad, a witchy Cape Canaveral. Then came the austere grey shell that sat over the main body of the Palace of Westminster for several years, turning it temporarily into a formidable superstructure. And now with the entombing of Churchill, we have our very own constructivist Kaaba. 

For the real art lover, what is going on in this country – and elsewhere – is thrilling. Seeing sullen old public monuments suddenly inspire people to action – for and against – is exactly what these works should have been about in the first place. Statues that once stood boringly and anonymously and aesthetically vacant on their plinths have now become great works of art having been roughed up, decapitated or drowned. Far from being dishonoured, these statues have been resurrected.