St. Pancras International announced that Shezad Dawood has been commissioned to create a major new installation at the iconic London destination,
due to be unveiled in summer 2022. This site-specific, sculptural and mixed reality commission will be the inaugural St. Pancras Wires installation, accompanied by a dynamic programme of public events in partnership with New Art Exchange (Nottingham) and London institutions.
Dawood’s site-responsive installation – his largest public artwork to date – combines sculpture and Augmented Reality to present a fantastical vision where the past meets the future of travel and technology via the space of the imagination.
Dawood, who grew up just five minutes from the station and has long admired its iconic architecture and cultural significance, draws directly on the aesthetic, cultural and architectural heritage of its surrounding area: the work combines references to William Henry Barlow’s innovative and radical engineering of the station itself, as well as Sir George Gilbert Scott’s iconic gothic spires of the now St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel.
Suspended in a space never before used for an art installation, the work promotes greater accessibility as it is visible from multiple perspectives, including both the inside and outside of the station. It also references the looking glass of Alice in Wonderland, whose original manuscripts are kept in the nearby British Library, while its polychromatic paint finish reflects the diversity of London’s communities.
Dawood’s unique sculptural installation will be unveiled to the public in summer 2022 with support from New Art Exchange, including a dynamic programme of public events open to all, which connects the commission in London with the vibrant art scene of Nottingham, a key stop on the HS1 route.
St Pancras Wires Curators (Samina Zahir & Charlie Levine) drew together an esteemed selection committee that included Cliff Lauson (Senior Curator from
the Hayward Gallery); Louise Fedotov-Clements, (Artistic Director, QUAD & Director - FORMAT International Photography Festival) and Stephen Beddoe (Director of External Relations at CSM), alongside HS1 leaders (owners of St. Pancras International). The committee chose Dawood’s work from a shortlist of submissions from established UK-based artists due to its innovative use of new media, it’s relevance to local stories and heritage as well as its future facing perspective.
due to be unveiled in summer 2022. This site-specific, sculptural and mixed reality commission will be the inaugural St. Pancras Wires installation, accompanied by a dynamic programme of public events in partnership with New Art Exchange (Nottingham) and London institutions.
Dawood’s site-responsive installation – his largest public artwork to date – combines sculpture and Augmented Reality to present a fantastical vision where the past meets the future of travel and technology via the space of the imagination.
Dawood, who grew up just five minutes from the station and has long admired its iconic architecture and cultural significance, draws directly on the aesthetic, cultural and architectural heritage of its surrounding area: the work combines references to William Henry Barlow’s innovative and radical engineering of the station itself, as well as Sir George Gilbert Scott’s iconic gothic spires of the now St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel.
Suspended in a space never before used for an art installation, the work promotes greater accessibility as it is visible from multiple perspectives, including both the inside and outside of the station. It also references the looking glass of Alice in Wonderland, whose original manuscripts are kept in the nearby British Library, while its polychromatic paint finish reflects the diversity of London’s communities.
Dawood’s unique sculptural installation will be unveiled to the public in summer 2022 with support from New Art Exchange, including a dynamic programme of public events open to all, which connects the commission in London with the vibrant art scene of Nottingham, a key stop on the HS1 route.
St Pancras Wires Curators (Samina Zahir & Charlie Levine) drew together an esteemed selection committee that included Cliff Lauson (Senior Curator from
the Hayward Gallery); Louise Fedotov-Clements, (Artistic Director, QUAD & Director - FORMAT International Photography Festival) and Stephen Beddoe (Director of External Relations at CSM), alongside HS1 leaders (owners of St. Pancras International). The committee chose Dawood’s work from a shortlist of submissions from established UK-based artists due to its innovative use of new media, it’s relevance to local stories and heritage as well as its future facing perspective.