Having decided to spend our ten year anniversary in London I began researching last year where to stay and what to do. Way back in September of last year I managed to secure a good deal on a Premier Inn Hotel right next to the Westferry DRL Station in Canary Wharf. Premier Inn is actually the UK’s biggest hotel brand with 86,000 rooms. They are a mid range hotel chain but perfectly adequate for our needs and we quite like the fact that we know when we book and then arrive, what to expect.
We arrived last Wednesday for our five night stay and checked in mid afternoon. Normally when we are off on an adventure I don’t plan anything for us to do straight away. It’s nice to chill out, unpack and relax before hitting the streets to explore but on this occasion I had decided to hit the ground running, so to speak, and head out on a Sculpture Trail.
Both of us enjoy art and my particular passion is Sculpture. We are fortunate to have a Sculpture Park near where we live in Gloucestershire which I have featured previously in a post:
https://amidlifeadventure.org/2024/06/28/discover-the-cotswolds-sculpture-park-a-harmony-of-nature-and-modern-art/
I had no previous knowledge of the sculptures at Canary Wharf but it is actually home to London’s largest collection of outdoor public art. With more than 100 pieces of stand-alone sculptures and integrated architectural works, each piece was created by a highly-respected artist and it would appear from our search goes largely unnoticed by those who live and work in the area.
Being midlife adventurers we haven’t ever got into the Pokemon search via phone that so many young people are involved in and from what I’ve seen on Instagram even some famous English celebrities! This was, for us, like an older persons artistic equivalent. It is completely free, in the open air and gave us a great introduction to this area of London that we had never previously explored. You can download a copy of the map and information about each statue directly from the Canary Wharf. com website: https://canarywharf.com/artwork/art-map/
I printed it off so I didn’t have to rely upon my phone battery, given I would also be using it for photographs and mapping our way. However be warned it doesn’t print accurately onto A4 paper!
Divided into five separate areas labelled A to E we started in Zone A purely because it was the closest to our hotel and we managed to complete about half of it in the three hours we had allocated before our dinner reservation. Here are my highlights, mainly in photographic form, of our afternoon stroll:
Zone A -Westferry
Our starting point was at a sculpture entitled “Windward” which stands directly on the riverside at a height of 50 metres. Made of red carbon fibre it bends in the wind. When it is particularly windy the tip of the needle can bend down to 20 meters!
This in itself was a beautiful spot to begin. The sun was still shining and the view across the Thames to The Schard was lovely enough to distract me from taking my first sculpture photograph!.
Adjacent to this is Westferry Circus where seven other sculptures stand. We found the map in this area slightly confusing with the numbered pictures matching the associated descriptions but not always matching the map.
The park is a small haven in an otherwise busy commercial area. It provides respite and calm with this focal sculpture entitled “Sasso Cosmico”standing out amongst the summer flowers and foliage.
En route to Columbus Courtyard was this piece called “Avatar” which portrays a hawk-like beast with a human form embedded in its back. You can see the yellow plaque on the floor next to this piece. This also gives information about the artist and details of the sculpture. Most of the sculptures we saw had their plaques intact.
The next photo shows my favourite in this first area -Centurione I by Igor Mitoraj.
I like the fact that the sculpture has its origins in the Roman era. I wanted to know who this handsome fellow was and really felt that Mitoraj had captured the human form well.
Walking around this fairly intense commercial area I couldn’t fail to also admire the architecture itself:
And look how clean all the streets are, it’s amazing!
We finished Zone A with “Man With Open Arms” by Giles Perry. Another of his sculptures also captured my attention in Zone B.
Zone B-Cabot:
At the centre of Cabot Square is a fountain which again offers refuge, a moment of calm and an ornate area to have your packed lunch whether visiting, like us or working here.
Six statues surround the square including this bronze statue by Helaine Blumenfeld called “Illusion”. The information given on the map tells us that the artist wanted visitors to interact with her piece and invited them to touch it, step into it and walk within and between its separate parts which I duly did. You do get different perspectives from completing this artistic suggestion.
Giles Perry’s second statue “Two Men on a Bench sits adjacent to the fountain. I really like this artists work and having been introduced to him on this walk will definitely look out for more in the future.
The men made of bronze are so solid in stature whilst smoothly presented and slightly historic, as if they have emerged from a period many hundreds of years ago.
Walking away from Cabot Square down the Cubitt Steps you reach this marvellous piece entitled “The Clew”. Made from 100 circles of red light, it was created by Ottotto, a Portuguese architectural firm.
It is actually timed to come on at dusk, there are a few other pieces en route that also are better seen in the dark rather than daylight. I still enjoyed it in daylight though particularly backed by the clever architectural stonework of the oblong building behind.
Leaving this piece behind we strolled alongside the water of Mackenzie Walk. Turning left onto South Colonnade and then right into Cabot Place Mall to check out number thirteen. Walking through here we reached North Colonnade on the other side ,had a look at number fourteen before doubling back on ourselves to walk to number twelve. Once again we were met with a beautiful piece of architecture with an Art Deco ceiling complete with fantastic ceiling lights.
Number Twelve -Jon Buck’s “Returning to Embrace” encapsulated for me the act of a total embrace where two people merge into one. I found it very romantic and reminiscent of Ancient Roman architecture and statues.
Before leaving this exhibit behind it is worth looking above your head in order to marvel at the ceiling which follows the Art Deco theme of the previous photo.
Walking from here towards Wren Landing to finish this section we headed onto the next zone.
Zone C -Canada Square and Crossrail Place:
Fishermans Walk in Zone B led us to Frobisher Passage thus joining Zone C at number sixteen. My two favourite pieces of the whole walk were in this area:
Camille Walala’s “Captivated By Colour” just mesmerised me. This local artist has designed colourful geometric shapes, playing with the long perspective of the tunnel. The design shows an optical pattern that shrinks and elongates as it moves across the panel of the bridge – creating a distorted effect as visitors pass through.
I have never seen anything quite like this and cannot think of anywhere else we have currently travelled to where this amount of effort has been put into creating what is in effect a tunnel for pedestrians to walk through. Outstanding!
The photos above and below show Adam Nathaniel Furman’s creation entitled “Click Your Heels Together Three Times”. This is a new piece installed for Pride Month in June 2023, celebrating the rainbow colours and embeds queer coded artworks within the public realm.
I just found it so celebratory, bright, cheerful and with the addition of being placed in water the colours reflect on the surface.
Again where else could you see something so jubilant?
We finished our exploration by popping into the lift at Crossrail Place and zooming up to the Roof Garden. Yet another beautifully designed garden in which to find some solitude and disconnect from the frenzy of modern life.
Alongside the sculptures we were able to discover on our five mile walk it was also the addition of these strategically placed areas of calm that really made me want to explore further how the whole area of Canary Wharff was designed for modern life and work. I was truly impressed!
We still have half of Zone C and the whole of D and E to finish but on this occasion our dinner date was calling. We will be back though without a doubt to continue!
Day 1 of our trip to London was complete, on to Day 2………………………
A Midlife Adventure 