The Line — A public art walk
Over the weekend I spent an afternoon following The Line, a public art walk running between North Greenwich to Stratford. I discovered some cool spots enroute (eg Cody Dock) and peeped some interesting artwork (and concepts) along the way.
Below are some of the artworks that intrigued me the most:
But I have to say Thomas Price’s Reaching Out resonated with me the most. I’d seen images floating around Instagram, but to see the sculpture in person was a special moment. It was as if I was looking at a younger version of myself despite the young woman being a fictional character.
I guess this speaks to the wider conversation of representation. Price’s practice focuses on engaging with issues of representation and perception, playing with material, scale and detail in order to challenge viewers expectations’. This notion relates to conversations about the lack of representation in terms of who is memorialised in public sculptures within the UK.
I have noticed that this theme of memory (and authority) has been a conversation that has been revived, particularly over the past few months. Price reflects on this theme in light of Marc Quinn’s installation of Jen Reid a Black Lives Matter protester, after the removal of a monument of Edward Colston back in July. Colston was a member of the Royal African Company and a merchant who made his wealth off the back of enslaved labour. This history explains why there has been a long-standing debate over memorialising Colston.
As the sun continues to shine, I’d recommend going on this walk! But make sure:
- You (and/ or the people you are with) have decent navigation skills. Whilst the map is interactive, it doesn’t have a GPS function which shows the route from your location to the specific point on the map.
- You (and/ or the people you are with) wear comfortable shoes! Whilst the walk itself is mainly on flat terrain, it was longer than I expected (approx 3 miles).
