Lord Edward Spencer-Churchill tells Tim Hughes about this year's illuminating art show at his family home, Blenheim Palace

Blenheim Palace is a monument to war. From its masonry cannon balls and triumphal carvings of the lion of England savaging the cock of France, to the stirring Victory Tapestries celebrating the 1st Duke of Marlborough’s 1704 defeat of the French at the Battle of Blenheim, it is an architectural celebration of military might.

All of which makes this autumn’s Blenheim art show even more extraordinary.

For its fourth annual spectacular, the palace has been handed over to New York artist Jenny Holzer as an architectural canvas for an exhibition shining a light on the horrors of war.

It features 50 pieces made specifically for the show, the most impressive being light projections on the palace’s facade and island, containing the words of soldiers who fought and were injured in recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan,

“It’s phenomenal,” says Lord Edward Spencer-Churchill, whose Blenheim Art Foundation is staging the show.

“I think it’s pretty extraordinary what she’s done. She’s risen to the challenge in a most extraordinary way and I’m very honoured to be working with her.”

For Lord Edward, brother of the 12th Duke of Marlborough and a keen contemporary art collector, Holzer’s exhibition is the realisation of a long term dream to bring her work to his family home, and follows acclaimed shows by Ai Weiwei, Lawrence Weiner and Michelangelo Pistoletto at the

Blenheim Palace is a monument to war. From its masonry cannon balls and triumphal carvings of the lion of England savaging the cock of France, to the stirring Victory Tapestries celebrating the First Duke of Marlborough’s 1704 defeat of the French at the Battle of Blenheim, it is a celebration of martial achievement.

All of which makes this autumn’s Blenheim art show even more extraordinary.

For its fourth annual spectacular, the palace has been handed over to New York artist Jenny Holzer as an architectural canvas for an exhibition shining a light on the horrors of war.

It features 50 pieces made specifically for the show the most impressive being light projections on the palace’s facade and island, containing the words of soldiers who fought and were injured in recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan,

“It’s phenomenal,” says Lord Edward Spencer-Churchill whose Blenheim Art Foundation is staging the show.

“I think it’s pretty extraordinary what she’s done. She’s risen to the challenge in a most extraordinary way and I’m very honoured to be working with her.”

For Lord Edward, brother of the 12th Duke of Marlborough and a keen contemporary art collector, Holzer’s exhibition is the realisation of a long time dream to bring her work to his family home. It follows acclaimed shows by Ai Weiwei, Lawrence Weiner and Michelangelo Pistoletto at the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

In her SOFTER show, Holzer uses the palace’s proud martial legacy – it was also the birthplace of wartime leader Winston Churchill – as a starting point to look at the theme of conflict, across time and countries, and the power of language to question authority.

Text for the artworks is drawn from accounts gathered by The Not Forgotten Association, a British charity that supports servicemen, women, and veterans suffering from combat injuries. Other contributors include charities Save The Children, Human Rights Watch and Polish war poet Anna Swirszczynska.

Pieces include engraved stonework and a striking installation using black mondo grass.

“It’s moving, challenging and deeply thought provoking,” says Lord Edward.

“It’s such a great juxtaposition between the new art and the old building.

“Blenheim was built as a glorious celebration of victory and while it was important to the protagonists, such as the 1st Duke and Winston, to show justify war and and the reasons that ended with victory, there’s also the acknowledgement of a huge human cost.

“All soldiers and commanders are all too acutely aware of the cost of victory.”

So what would the 1st Duke and Winston have made of Holzer’s work? “Who knows?” he chuckles. “I think they would have approved but perhaps not with it being done in such a public way.

“People were prepared to acknowledge the cost of war but not talk about it. One of the challenges of working with a house like Blenheim is its monumental celebration of victory.”

The show follows a two-year collaboration between Holzer and the foundation and is the fruition of an even longer vision.

Lord Edward says: “When we first came up with the idea of the foundation we had an initial list of artists and Jenny was on that list.”

Each exhibition, he says, sees the artist given almost complete freedom to use the setting as they wish.

“Our process is very much to show the artist the canvas, encourage them to think about what to put on that canvas and discuss whether certain things would or wouldn’t work,” he says.”

And does he think everything works? “Certain things I find particularly chilling,” he says. “But the role of art is to challenge. We have moved beyond the medium of painting. Good art evokes a reaction, and, rather like life, that evolves over time.”

He welcomed the palace’s role, over the past four years, as a home for contemporary art – even though it has sometimes divided visitors.

“We get a Marmite reaction,” he says. “Some love it and others hate it.”

Yet, he argues, it is all part of the palace’s evolution.

“Many people who come to Blenheim think it’s been the same for 300 years, but it’s actually a patchwork quilt of history. It is constantly changing. Look at Capability Brown’s lake. I wonder what West Oxfordshire District Council would think about that if we tried to build it today?”

He adds: “You have to mix the old with the new otherwise you ossify. That’s what motivates us to do these exhibitions.”

And what is the show’s highpoint? “The light projections,” he says.

“Nothing quite prepares you for the poignancy of the baroque facade of the palace and the island lit up. It’s pretty mindblowing.”

  • SOFTER: Jenny Holzer at Blenheim Palace, runs until December 31.
  • The exhibition and light projections are free to the public.
  • The light projections run from 7.15 pm onwards until October 10.