When I read about it, I was a bit sceptical about Gavin Turk’s new 36ft-tall rusty nail at One New Change in the City.
After seeing it in person I was actually very impressed. It doesn’t obscure the new view of St Paul’s. The symbolism of the nail viewed against the cathedral is striking from the east and from the west the humble nail’s background is the high-tech shopping centre by Jean Nouvel.
The nail seems to me to act effectively as a much needed bridge between these two very different structures.
Much more on the background to the work here.
>Here are some images of Charles Wheeler’s Guardian Lions and St. Georges from the outdoor area on the 6th floor of One New Change. Originally they stood over the entrance to the Bank Of England’s Accounts Department, who occupied the site from the 1950′s until 2007.
For more Wheeler links, click on the appropriate label.
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I mentioned the Boris Anrep mosaics at One New Change the other day, here are some pictures. There is another one on the roof terrace, along with four Charles Wheeler sculptures. These were all salvaged from the original Bank of England site. There are more details from the City of London Planning Department here.
