Sculpture in the City is held from May each year in the City of London and allows visitors, commuters, and employees to view various sculptures and artwork in the square mile as they go about their days. Sculpture in the City is in its tenth year this year after being cancelled last year, although many of the previous year's sculptures were extended for another year. The sculpture trail beings about well-known artists as well as new talent, and I always enjoy seeing the sculptures.
This year, there are nineteen new (and a few previous from past years) sculptures to see across the City of London. I visited them toward the end of July. Keep reading to see more about the sculptures.
Burial by Alice Channer
The artist was inspired to create these sculptures in appearance to horizontal bodies of humans in a burial. They are made from reclaimed steel from demolished London buildings and altered to appear like organic materials instead of steel.
Silent Agitator by Ruth Ewan
This sculpture has historical meaning behind it as it was based on a 1917 illustration for the unions of worker's rights and the organisation of eight hour work days and the 5-day working week. The symbolism of the clock references work days and also references attempts to reclaim personal time, which I believe more people have a taste for after going through the past year or working from home or waiting to return to work.
Keeping Time by Isabella Martin
The banner is located on top of a building and reads "Days and nights crash over me like waves". The artwork is an ode to time-keeping and the measurement of time. The artist thought about a shell in a sea with the water washing over it over centuries.
Unititled by Tatiana Wolska
Recycled plastic bottles have been used to create the sculpture appearing to "climb" or crawl on the building. The light-weight material allows them to be suspended in a multitude of places.
symbols by Guillaume Vandame
The flags shown above Leadenhall Market are the flags of the different communities in the LGBT+ space. These symbols represent the community and rights of people to express who they are after some difficult years with the flag banned and the events of 2020 cancelled.
Unititled by Tatiana Wolska
Recycled plastic bottles have been used to create this sculpture hanging suspended above Leadenhall Market. The light-weight material allows them to be suspended in a multitude of places even though they appear large.
Orphans by Bram Ellens
These sculptures were created from canvases. These canvases were paintings that belonged to those who had died and left the artwork orphaned. The artwork was reused to create the sculptures and to give the canvases a new lease of life.
Bloom Paradise by Jun T. Lai
These sculptures were created to bring more positivity into the world after a difficult time. They depict flowers in bloom, though one of the appears to be a jester's hat to me, and they are meant to transport the viewer to a fantasy land. The flowers represent hope, sky, and life.
ReadHead Sunset Stack by Almuth Tebbenhoff
The sculpture represents a beautiful sunset stack made of coloured blocks. The blue represents the earth and the red the sun, and the orange and pink represent the colours of a sunset and the unknowns of the world.
In Loving Memory by Oliver Bragg
These benches dotted around replicate the "in memory" benches that are common to cities and parks. However, these encapsulate the little memories that we have every day and our memories. There were a few of these dotted around the City of London to discover.
Reactivity by Regitze Engelsborg Karlsen
The artist wishes that the viewer would create new stories about the landscape for a new understanding of it. These blocks appeared like half-made human forms or sculptures or sculptures of humans that had been worn down and weathered over time.
Harlequin Four by Mark Handforth
This sculpture depicts a large number "4" with varying colours and lights. The artist uses the number a lot in his work, and this piece is constructed from metal in an ad-hoc manner.
Cosmos by Eva Rothschild
This sculpture is painted black on the outside but painted brighter gradient of colours on the inside. The structures support each other. The black appears like a gate with welcoming colours inside.
Murmurs of the Deep by Laura Arminda Kingsley
Microscopic organisms in an oceam setting inspired the artist to install these on the backs of the escalators at the Cheesegrator building.
Stone (Butch) by Rosanne Robertson
This sculpture focuses on the body or form of lesbian or transgender identities. It expresses a shifting and fluid piece and draws on nature.
Rough Neck Business by Mike Ballard
This cubesque sculpture is created from wooden hoardings that can be seen across London while construction work is taking place. The hoardings are from Dalston, Hackney Wick, and the Olympic Park, areas of London that have become more developed on in recent years.
The Garden of Floating Words by Elisa Artessero
These series of words form a poem coming out from the garden with words suspended on towers; at night, the words alone glow. The poem reads "you've gone touching leaves in the moonlight". This sculpture made its debut in 2019.
Metal Man - Deeper Together, Deep Travel Inc. NYC by Laure Prouvost
Sculptural and video elements come together to create this artwork and involve the viewer in a series of images and text on screens. The metal stick figures appear to bow to each other and instruct the user to take part.
Latent Space by Jake Elwes
This projected in Fen Court was meant to be on display throughout July, but it was not on when I visited it during the day. It is meant to encapulate a series of created photographs projected onto the ceiling of the building to show relationships using AI technology.
That wraps it up for this year's Sculpture in the City. Overall, I was disappointed with this year's Sculpture in the City as the pieces were not as good as in past years.
Previous years of London's Sculpture in the City (with exception to 2020 as it was cancelled) are included below:
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