PREVIEW

AssetID: 31808464

Headline: Royal Academician Conrad Shawcross Unveils Monumental New Public Art Installation At St Pancras International

Caption: Today, High Speed 1 Ltd. (owners of St Pancras International station) and the Royal Academy of Arts revealed this year’s eagerly anticipated Terrace Wires public art installation, Interpretation of Movement (a 9:8 in blue), 2017, by Royal Academician Conrad Shawcross. The Interpretation of Movement (a 9:8 in blue), 2017, is Conrad Shawcross’ most ambitious mechanical work to date, stretching out to a 16m diameter as it methodically turns above the station concourse. Consisting of three articulated arms driven by a complex sequence of gears, the mechanism drives three ‘optic sails’ which expand and contract in an orbit from the centre, at which point they eclipse each other where they form a complex pattern of interference. Conrad Shawcross RA, said: “The machine is driven by a precise set of gears taken from fundamental ratios within harmonics that culminate in an exact and controlled unified movement of its parts. I am convinced that meaning lies within the abstract interplay of its components together with their vectors and accelerations. The machine is elusive, it is constantly shifting in an undefinable state of change and constancy that echoes the very contradictory stuff that we are made of.” This is the third instalment of a four-year partnership between HS1 Ltd. and the Royal Academy for the station’s public sculpture series, following Cornelia Parker RA’s One More Time in 2015 and Ron Arad RA’s Thought of Train of Thought in 2016. This year marks the fifth year of the Terrace Wires commission at the station. Terrace Wires is a highly visible programme for public art, suspended from St Pancras International’s iconic Barlow Shed roof. It offers 48 million travellers each year the chance to experience the latest contemporary art as they pass through the station. This partnership between HS1 Ltd. and the Royal Academy of Arts builds on the shared belief in the values of bringing art to the community whilst celebrating the approach in 2018 of both the Royal Academy’s 250th anniversary and the 150th anniversary of St Pancras station. The commission is the Royal Academy’s only external public sculpture series in London and is free to view. The Interpretation of Movement (a 9:8 in blue) will be at St Pancras International station until December 2017. Tim Marlow, Artistic Director at the Royal Academy of Arts, said: “The idea of a celebration of mechanics and engineering, not to mention a labour of love, being staged in the airy magnificence of St Pancras is mouth-watering. Conrad Shawcross has established himself as one of the most accomplished and ambitious artists of his generation across the world and I'm relishing the prospect of his RA collaboration with HS1.” Wendy Spinks, Commercial Director at HS1 Ltd. (owners of St Pancras International), said: “We look forward to welcoming The Interpretation of Movement (a 9:8 in blue), 2017 by Conrad Shawcross to the station, which will be our second dynamic installation following the mesmerising Thought Train of Thought by Ron Arad RA in 2016. This art work is set to explore the complexity and harmony of orbital movement, intertwining art with mechanics and engineering. It is a familiar concept for St Pancras International as both an infrastructure hub and a stunning, architectural landmark. We are excited by the prospect of this work continuing to build the profile of Terrace Wires and St Pancras as a great place for public art.”

Keywords: feature,photo feature,photo story

PersonInImage: