Commissioned by Sellar on behalf of Great Western Developments Ltd.
Curated by Lacuna
Catherine Yass, NHS Swimmers (Study 1, 2023. PSQ Tanner Lane Permanent Public Art Commission. © The Artist
Tanner Lane Permanent Public Art Commission – launching 2024
Commissioned artist: Catherine Yass
Curated by Lacuna
Catherine Yass will take over a 24-metre-long wall on the neighbouring St Mary’s Hospital on Tanner Lane to deliver a large-scale collaborative photographic installation featuring and celebrating NHS workers. It will be the artist’s first permanent public realm commission in London and one of three new permanent public artworks at Paddington Square. The artwork was selected by an independent jury from an invited-competition curated by Lacuna.
"The artist has been working closely with a cross-section of NHS staff, the in-house curatorial team and various stakeholder groups to ensure that the work is reflective of the hospital’s past and present accomplishments."
Stella Ioannou, Director of Lacuna | The Art Newspaper, 25 October 2021
Tanner Lane Rotational Public Art Project – launching 2024
Commissioned Artist: Kathrin Böhm
Curated by The Showroom in partnership with Lacuna
Launching in 2024, Kathrin Böhm responds to the theme of ‘care’ by asking the pressing question: “Why Do We Care About Art?”.
Böhm explored individual responses to this question through collaborative poster-making workshops throughout July to October 2021. The final artwork, which will be located on a 12 metre long wall on the corner of Tanner Lane and Praed Street at Paddington Square, will project a chorus of voices through a process of assimilating and responding to the assemblage of statements created by each workshop contributor.
Kathrin Böhm, Tanner Lane Wall Workshop (July 2021) PSQ Public Art Rotational Project ©The Artist and The Showroom.
ABOUT THE SERIES
Partnering with The Showroom, a public contemporary art space based near Paddington Square, the annual Tanner Lane Rotational Public Art Project is a new series of collaborative artworks situated at Tanner Lane, between Paddington Square and St Mary’s Hospital.
Each annual project is realised with community engagement and offers a new model for exploring current cultural themes in the public realm. The series continues in 2025 with the collaborative practice, Long Distance Press (Adam Shield and Thomas Whittle) and in 2026 with Harold Offeh.
The commissioned artworks will each be in-situ for one year at a time, providing a rotational site for temporary public artworks, each responding to the overarching theme of ‘care’. Created through community engagement, the project creates a new context for The Showroom’s programme at Paddington Square, allowing a wide audience of visitors, workers and local residents to enjoy and engage with contemporary art practices.
“Lacuna conducted extensive research into the neighbourhood, working with local communities and engaging with a diverse set of stakeholders, greatly enriching our curatorial approach and the development of these landmark commissions with leading contemporary artists. While lockdown presented us with new challenges, it also allowed us to develop novel methods for critical engagement with the evolving cultural conversation.”
Stella Ioannou, Director and Jade Niklai, Associate Curator, Lacuna
The Escalator Permanent Public Art Commission – launching 2024
Commissioned artist: Pae White
Curated by Lacuna
Pae White’s artwork addressed the curatorial theme of 'Transience and Transparency' and it is inspired by the defining features of the RPBW-design building. The artwork will be installed above the escalator leading to the new Jubilee Line station.
Paddington Square (The Escalator), London. Client Sellar/GDW. Architect RPBW. Rendering © RPBW/Grain/Sellar.
The artwork is inspired by dragonfly wings, a motif and symbol of delicacy and strength. It will include intertwining shapes and circular motifs.
Pae White, February 2021
The Street Permanent Public Art Commission – launching 2024
Commissioned artist: Ugo Rondinone
Curated by Lacuna
The artwork will be a monumental free-standing abstract sculpture, located at Paddington Square's busy pedestrian pathway called The Street. It will be a joyous celebration of humanity and the development; offering a place for site users to meet family, friends and colleagues.
The artist was commissioned by invitation.
Paddington Square (The Street), London. Client Sellar/GDW. Architect RPBW. Rendering © RPBW/Grain/Sellar.
The artwork will address the dual reflection between the inner self and the natural world. Just as the external world one sees is inseparable from the internal structures of oneself, this work allows layers of signification to come in and out of focus, prompting the viewer to revel in the pure sensory experience of color, form and mass while simultaneously engendering an altogether contemporary version of the sublime.”
Ugo Rondinone, October 2020
