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Public Art Series 'Terrace Wires' to replace Olympic Rings at London’s St Pancras Station

Date uploaded: December 5, 2012

A work by the English and French artistic duo Lucy and Jorge Orta has been selected to kick launch a series of temporary public art commissions in London. The Ortas’ work, which will be unveiled in April 2013, will replace the Olympic Rings that were suspended above the main concourse at St Pancras train station in the run-up to the London 2012 games. The work will be visible from the length of the station’s Grand Terrace, greeting visitors arriving in the city on Eurostar trains from Europe, and will be seen by up to 1 million visitors a week.

The environmentalism-themed artwork will be inspired by and build upon the artists’ Cloud series, consisting of sculptures built out of recycled water bottles and coated in resin, and also incorporating 3D scanning technology. Lucy Orta explained: ‘There are some figurative elements to the sculpture… we’re using the latest technology to produce 3D scans of real people which will then be milled by the computer.’ The 65-foot-wide installation will weigh around two tonnes. It will be designed by the artists but created by a computer and a team of engineers. The work will address the themes of water scarcity and the environment. Orta explained that: ‘Instead of hands chopping away at a block of marble, we’ll have the cutting knife attached to a computer which will carve the piece from a dense polystyrene material.’

The Ortas’ sculpture will remain in place for six months, and will be followed by another temporary commission, also hung from the ceiling, in spring 2014. The new series of public art commissions, Terrace Wires, is being funded by HS1 Ltd., who own St Pancras.

The Ortas were selected by a panel of judges which included Edmund de Waal (potter), Evan Davies (BBC journalist), and Nicola Shaw, Chief Executive of HS1 Ltd.

Lucy and Jorge Orta's work will replace the Olympic Rings suspended in St Pancras station

Lucy and Jorge Orta's work will replace the Olympic Rings suspended in St Pancras station