LONDON.- A magnificent sculpture by Turner Prize-nominee Roger Hiorns will go on display in Yorkshire next year after being saved from demolition. Untitled (Seizure), which transformed an abandoned London council flat into a glittering crystal landscape, was acquired by the Arts Council Collection with help from the Art Fund.

The work
To create the sculpture, Hiorns pumped 75,000 litres of liquid copper sulphate into an empty flat in Southwark, London. The result – a growth of scintillating blue crystal covering every surface in the room – was both beautiful and threatening, inspiring the Guardian's Jonathan Jones to describe it as 'one of the truly worthwhile and significant moments of modern British art'.

The acquisition
Hiorns's sculpture risked being destroyed when it was announced that the social housing block containing it was to be demolished in early 2011. The work was saved thanks to a gift by the artist, ArtAngel and the Jerwood Charitable Foundation made through the Art Fund, together with the support of the Henry Moore Foundation.

The work – which weighed over 31 tonnes – was extracted from the apartment using a meticulous process during which one wall of the flat was removed, allowing the sculpture to be transferred to a lorry in one piece. It will go on display to the public at Yorkshire Sculpture Park in spring 2013.

Roger Hiorns is a British artist. He was nominated for the Turner Prize in 2009. Hiorns was born in Birmingham. He attended the Bournville College of Art from 1991 to 1993, and Goldsmiths College in London from 1993 to 1996. He lives in London.