Kingsway Tram
London
Subway, Southampton Row, Holborn, WC1B 4AP

Conrad Shawcross
dal 8/10/2009 al 7/11/2009
07740 869021
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Conrad Shawcross



 
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8/10/2009

Conrad Shawcross

Kingsway Tram, London

Chord. A giant, site specific, mechanical installation in the Kingsway Tram Subway, Holborn in October. This vast underground tunnel is a remarkable and fascinating survivor of London's tramway heritage which has been closed for public use since 1952. The artist has built two identical rope machines that will weave a thick hawser from 324 spools of coloured string. Like two huge spiders, the machines gradually move away from each other slowly down the subway following the old tram tracks.


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British artist Conrad Shawcross will construct a giant, site specific, mechanical installation in the Kingsway Tram Subway, Holborn in October. This vast underground tunnel is a remarkable and fascinating survivor of London’s tramway heritage which has been closed for public use since 1952.

Chord is Conrad Shawcross most ambitious and complex work to date. Conceived specifically for the long subway, the artist has built two identical rope machines that will weave a thick hawser from 324 spools of coloured string. The machines will begin back to back in the centre of the space and then gradually move away from each other slowly down the subway following the old tram tracks. Like two huge spiders, they will slowly weave their rope behind them as they slowly travel through the space over the course of the exhibition.

Returning to the themes of previous rope production works The Nervous Systems, (2003 - Saatchi collection) and Yarn (2001) Chord is concerned with the human perception of time, as both a linear and cyclical notion. The rope becomes a strong structural metaphor, as it is a clear linear entity made up and formed by a cyclical process. Each point on the rope can be traced back to a certain moment during the show and duration becomes interchangeable with length; time with space, an hour being around 20cm, a day around six meters.

Shawcross continues to challenge and develop his practice in September becoming Artist-in-Residence at the Science Museum in September where he will be given access to the Science Museum’s peerless collections and expert curators as part of its ongoing centenary programme.

Chord is a Measure commission produced in partnership with Camden Council, Victoria Miro Gallery, inholborn and London Transport Museum.

Funded by Arts Council England, Bloomberg, Victoria Miro Gallery and The Henry Moore Foundation.

Artist information
Embued with an appearance of scientific rationality, Conrad Shawcross’s sculptures explore subjects that lie on the borders of geometry and philosophy, physics and metaphysics. Attracted by failed quests for knowledge in the past, he often appropriates redundant theories and methodologies to create ambitious structural and mechanical montages, using a wide variety of materials and media, and working on an epic scale. Different technologies - nautical and audio-visual - and different natural forces inspire his forms, but his mysterious machines and structures remain enigmatic, filled with paradox and wonder. Some have an absurdist melancholy feel, while others tend to the sublime.
More recently, with another group of works, Conrad Shawcross has begun to experiment with ideal geometries and topologies; these constructions are conceived as systems, sometimes modular, sometimes mechanical, which could be theoretically extended infinitely into space. In these and other sculptures, Shawcross pays tribute to some of the great pioneers and analysts, and considers a specific moment or figure from the past. Paradigm (Ode to the Difference Engine) (2006) references the life of Charles Babbage, Space Trumpet (2007) is inspired by the history of early acoustic mapping, while Slow Arc Inside a Cube (2008) takes its inspiration from the scientist Dorothy Hodgkin’s discovery of the structure of pig insulin.

About Measure
Measure is a not-for-profit arts organisation that aims to inspire a passion for art, architecture and history. Through our collaborative commissions we encourage artists to challenge their own practice and evolve new ways of working.

A short history of the Kingsway Tram Subway
In 1895, the newly elected London County Council (LCC) began carrying out the first major urban improvement scheme in central London. By 1898, thousands of people had been re-housed and a tree-lined avenue named Kingsway in honor of Edward VII had replaced the slum. On February 24 1906 and inspired by public transport in Boston and New York, King Edward VII opened the first section of the tram subway. Over the next few decades, 200,000 Londoners were commuting through the subway each week; it’s maximum capacity. The demand for more apt transport rose rapidly, as did the competition from bus and tube services. Finally, in February 1930, the LCC decided to raise the roof and deepen the tunnel as appropriate to accommodate double-deck trams. London Transport was formed in 1933 and took over LCC’s tram operations and decided to replace trams with modern trolleybuses. This continued until 1940 by which time the subway tram services were the only ones in North London and were finally withdrawn in April 1952.

Exhibition information

Tours run from 11am to 6pm every hour on the hour. Visitors will have approx half an hour in the Subway to view the artwork and space. Visitors must arrive 10mins before their booked time and congregate at the meeting point outside Central St Martins College before being taken to the Subway by tour guides.

A program of talks and educational events accompany Chord.
For further information please visit http://www.measure.org.uk

Chord, Kingsway Tram Subway, Southampton Row, Holborn, WC1B 4AP
Open Wednesday – Sunday, 11am – 7pm.
Tickets must be pre-booked for entry at measure.org.uk or in person at the venue. Tickets will be available to book from Monday 28th September from the Measure website.

IN ARCHIVIO [1]
Conrad Shawcross
dal 8/10/2009 al 7/11/2009

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