Michal Rovner's 'Transitions' to be unveiled at Canary Wharf Crossrail Place

Crossrail Place, Canary Wharf, London
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Event has ended
This event ended on Thursday 3rd of October 2019
Admission
Free
Location

Crossrail Place, Canary Wharf, London

Nearest Tube/Rail Stations
Canary Wharf 0.00 miles

Michal Rovner’s Transitions, a new, site-specific, 16-metre-long screen-based artwork addressing themes of humanity, history and time, will be unveiled on 3 October. The large-scale video artwork will reference the striking architecture of Canary Wharf and capture the lively character of the new Canary Wharf Elizabeth line station.

The supersized digital installation is part of The Crossrail Art Foundation’s public art programme, known as The Crossrail Art Programme. It is one of the ten major works of public art being installed at seven of the new Elizabeth line stations, Transitions is co-funded by Canary Wharf Group and the City of London Corporation and was commissioned with the support of the Pace Gallery.

In this new piece, Rovner records elements from different locations in London and erases visual information, obscuring specifics of time and place through gestural, abstract qualities. Transitions juxtaposes human narrative with historical and architectural landmarks of the British capital.

Showing on a vast LED screen positioned within Canary Wharf’s Crossrail Place, the piece also draws influence from the dramatically sculpted escalators, platforms and passageways of the new Elizabeth line station at Canary Wharf, reflecting on the human presence within the space and the dynamic flow of people arriving and departing. The lines, structures and patterns change more rapidly and recall a sense of urgency and warning that permeate our world.

Each individual silhouette featured in the film has been personally filmed by Rovner to depict individualism and humanity. Although each person has been abstracted to the point of anonymity, the indistinct bodies represent everyone – regardless of age, race or gender. The artwork is a vivid reminder of the tide of humanity that ebbs and flows through London, an entity which formulaically moves to the stop and start of the London Underground.

Transitions can be found on the Quay Level of Crossrail Place.

Michal Rovner, Artist, commented: “I wanted to encapsulate, to summarize this place, London with the mystery of fog, the rich theatre, literature and architecture. A mixture of present and past, a world full of monuments, testimonies of a dramatic and grand history, living within the vivid present time which is marching constantly into the future.
I hope that my work in this place will remind travellers that the time they take for granted, going from one place to another, and the space between, is actually very meaningful. By moving from one place to another, they are part of the magical human flow in time.

Chris Sexton, Crossrail deputy chief executive commented: “We are delighted that the fantastic artwork by Michal Rover, inspired by the architecture of Elizabeth line station at Canary Wharf, has been unveiled today. It is the first of the ten major works of art that form The Crossrail Art Programme to be unveiled to the public.”

Camille Waxer, Canary Wharf Group, commented: “As a long standing supporter of the arts, we are delighted to provide this highly visible location for “Transitions” by renowned artist Michal Rovner, presented as an integral component of Crossrail Art Programme’s new Culture Line.

Tags: Art

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