An installation of five fibreglass sharks by architect Jaimie Shorten for the Architecture Foundation's Antepavilion project in east London has been hit by a last-minute court injunction by the local council.
Four of the five models had already been lowered into the Regent's Canal in east London ahead of today's planned opening.
But Hackney Council's planning department issued a court injunction last night against the Architecture Foundation, the built-environment charity that organises the annual Antepavilion project.
Antepavilion jury member Russell Gray, whose property company Shiva owns the Hoxton Docks venue for the installation, described the council's move as "pathetic" and claimed planning officers were "driven by their own egos". The injunction has left one of the five sharks stranded inside Hoxton Docks
Work has been suspended on the installation until the hearing, leaving the fifth shark stranded on dry land.
"The work on the installation of the sharks was ongoing last night when a court injunction requested by Hackney Council was issued, which is disputing the change of use on the site," Architecture Foundation director Ellis Woodman told Dezeen.
The injunction alleges that the installation amounts to a "material change of use" of the canal and accuses the organisers of "the display of art installations without the benefit of planning permission".
It prohibits the organisers from "using the land or facilitat...