‘Roots: Palace’ by © Ai Weiwei Studio; Courtesy of Ai Weiwei Studio, Lisson Gallery, and neugerriemschneider, Berlin. Photography: © Nick Turpin
‘Roots: Palace’ by © Ai Weiwei Studio; Courtesy of Ai Weiwei Studio, Lisson Gallery, and neugerriemschneider, Berlin. Photography: © Nick Turpin
‘Looping Loop’ by Andrew Sabin ©. Courtesy of the artist and Brooke Benington. Photography: © Nick Turpin
‘Looping Loop’ by Andrew Sabin ©. Courtesy of the artist and Brooke Benington. Photography: © Nick Turpin
Dendrophiles by Jane and Louise Wilson ©. Courtesy of Maureen Paley, London and 303 Gallery New York. Photography: © Nick Turpin
CAUCUS by Samuel Ross – part of the 13th edition of Sculpture in the City. © Samuel Ross. Courtesy of Friedman Bena
‘Charles, Jiwon, Nethaneel and Elena’ by Julian Opie. Part of the 13th edition of Sculpture in the City. © Courtesy of the artist
‘The Garden of Floating Words’ by Elisa Artesero. Part of the 13th edition of Sculpture in the City. Courtesy of the artist ©
‘Temple’ by Richard Mackness. Part of the 13th edition of Sculpture in the City © Richard Mackness
‘Untitled’ by Daniel Silver ©. Part of the 13th edition of Sculpture in the City. Courtesy of the artist and Frith Street Gallery, London
With London’s financial centre slowing for summer, a new collection of public artworks has landed on the streets to attract a different sort of denizen. The annual open-air exhibition that is Sculpture in the City launched its 14th edition this week with three original commissions, adding to years of acquisitions on permanent view within the Square Mile. Installations by Ai Weiwei, Andrew Sabin and Jane and Louise Wilson explore ideas of displacement, memory and the relationship between ancient knowledge and modern technology.
Located in the churchyard of St Botolph-without-Bishopsgate, Ai Weiwei’s ‘Roots: Palace’ is a cast-iron root network resembling the form of an endangered tree. The artist joined with artisans from Brazil to mould the original shape, using a traditional ‘lost wax’ technique, calling back to early tree-felling rituals. A patina of orange rust has formed on the surface to reflect the passage of time and the crudeness of ancient methods.
The contribution of artist-sisters Jane and Louise Wilson consists of epic ink drawings on the underside of two escalators in the lobby of the Leadenhall Building. Called ‘Dendrophiles’, it plays off enhanced images of ancient DNA strands and dendro samples dating back to Roman London, when wood bridges spanned the River Walbrook.
And at 70 St Mary Axe, Andrew Sabin has premiered ‘Looping Loop‘, an amorphous figure shaped in a mould of pastry margarine. The resulting piece was rendered in stone aggregate and bonded with a liquid plastic, dimpled with holes from margarine fungi.
In total, 11 sculptures are on show, in situ until next spring.
‘Dendrophiles’ by Jane and Louise Wilson ©. Courtesy of Maureen Paley, London and 303 Gallery New York. Photography: © Nick Turpin
‘Looping Loop’ by Andrew Sabin ©. Courtesy of the artist and Brooke Benington. Photography: © Nick Turpin
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