The Egyptian goddess of nature comes to life on the shores of the Serpentine

Screen and stage actress Joely Richardson is coming to Hyde Park and will be playing to an audience of more than twelve million people this year, as she animates the Egyptian goddess of nature, the sculpture Isis.

The script for the voice of the Egyptian goddess was written by Carrie Briffett from Paris, who won the opportunity to create a voice for the statue in a competition as part of Sing London’s “Talking Statues” - a nationwide initiative to animate 35 artworks from London to Manchester.

This is the third statue to come to life in London’s Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. Last year Peter Pan voiced by Daniel Roche, star of Outnumbered, and the mighty Achilles with Dominic West were unveiled and so far more than 5,000 people have tuned in to their stories.

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Joely Richardson said today she was delighted to accept the role: "Hyde Park is a home from home for me. So beautifully kept for all of us toenjoy. I was so honoured to lend my voice to one of the talking statues, and interact by proxy with visitors to one of our gorgeous landmarks."

More than twelve million people from around the world visit the capital’s most famous park each year and they will be able to hear Joely speaking as the goddess when they touch their mobile phone to a digital reader at the base of the sculpture.

The bronze statue by Simon Gudgeon, which has become a famous London landmark, depicts the goddess of nature in the shape of a three-metre-high wading bird, looking reflective with its long, thin, down-curved bill.  With generous support from Halcyon Gallery, the statue helped raise funds to build a new environmental education centre in the heart of Hyde Park where children from inner city areas can learn about wildlife and the natural world.