Cable drums form crucial cogs of Temple station artwork
A London artist has used electricity cable drums as the foundation of a spectacular new installation on the roof of Temple station.
When approached by headline London artist Holly Hendry and theCoLAB, UK Power Networks got the wheels in motion to deliver lorry loads of cable drums to the groundbreaking art project called ‘Slackwater’, bringing The Artist’s Garden roof terrace, above London’s Temple tube station, to life.
UK Power Networks supplied 25 cable drums for the project, worth nearly £4,000. Hendry weaved metal ducting over UK Power Networks’ cable drums, which are each 1 metre high, and casts of inflated boat fenders.
The project pays homage to Sir Joseph Bazalgette's sewage system and the River Thames, described as ‘monster soup’ in the 19th century. The spectacle is Hendry’s first public commission in London and her most expansive to date, mirroring the fluid similarities of London’s Thames to the flows of the human body.
The sculptural installation has been under development since last Autumn and revealed to the public July 6, running through to September 2024.
The Artist’s Garden has been created in partnership with Westminster City Council since 2021.
All are welcome to visit, from 8am daily with seasonal closing times at dusk.
Claire Mander, director of theCoLAB said: “A huge thank you to UK Power Networks not only for providing the electricity spools for Holly Hendry's sculpture in The Artist’s Garden on the roof of Temple tube – but also for delivering them and re-using them after the show.
“The work is about the inexorable movement of water, power, people through the city and the body and the spools are a key way for viewers to make those connections. It was great to work with a company so open to seeing its components in this inspiring context.”
When approached by headline London artist Holly Hendry and theCoLAB, UK Power Networks got the wheels in motion to deliver lorry loads of cable drums to the groundbreaking art project called ‘Slackwater’, bringing The Artist’s Garden roof terrace, above London’s Temple tube station, to life.
UK Power Networks supplied 25 cable drums for the project, worth nearly £4,000. Hendry weaved metal ducting over UK Power Networks’ cable drums, which are each 1 metre high, and casts of inflated boat fenders.
The project pays homage to Sir Joseph Bazalgette's sewage system and the River Thames, described as ‘monster soup’ in the 19th century. The spectacle is Hendry’s first public commission in London and her most expansive to date, mirroring the fluid similarities of London’s Thames to the flows of the human body.
The sculptural installation has been under development since last Autumn and revealed to the public July 6, running through to September 2024.
The Artist’s Garden has been created in partnership with Westminster City Council since 2021.
All are welcome to visit, from 8am daily with seasonal closing times at dusk.
Claire Mander, director of theCoLAB said: “A huge thank you to UK Power Networks not only for providing the electricity spools for Holly Hendry's sculpture in The Artist’s Garden on the roof of Temple tube – but also for delivering them and re-using them after the show.
“The work is about the inexorable movement of water, power, people through the city and the body and the spools are a key way for viewers to make those connections. It was great to work with a company so open to seeing its components in this inspiring context.”