PHOTOCALL NOTICE:
An opportunity to watch/photograph/film the first unique Death Metal art performance outside The Gherkin, 30
St Mary Axe for the popular public art exhibition, Sculpture in the City. The summer long exhibition of contemporary
art pieces in and around the Square Mile.
SCULPTURE IN THE CITY
3 July – May 2015, City of London, London
DATE: Wednesday 2nd July
Performance: 08.45
PLACE: 30 St Mary Axe, London, EC3A 8EP
CONTACT: [email protected] Damian Chandler. Mobile +44 797 498 2392
A tour of all the Sculpture in the City works will be conducted by Co-Director, Stella Ioannou at 9.15.
Join the conversation #sculptureinthecity
Box sized DIE featuring Unfathomable Ruination, by Portuguese artist João Onofre, will be placed outside The
Gherkin with a selection of Death Metal music performances taking place throughout the summer. Measuring 183 x
183 x 183cm, this steel cube come to life with a set from the London based Death Metal band, Unfathomable
Ruination. Following the band’s entrance, the sculpture is hermetically sealed and sound proofed, meaning the
duration of the performance is entirely variable, determined by and restricted to the length of time that oxygen is
expended. Activated, the work offers an invisible show contained in a closed space. Only the residues of the sound
vibrations attest to the inner performance.
This will be the first time that João Onofre’s sculpture has come to London, having toured extensively through Europe
at venues including Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France; Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art (MACBA), Barcelona,
Spain and Art Basel, Basel, Switzerland. The sculpture takes direct influence from Tony Smith’s pioneering minimalist
sculpture Die (1962) having identical dimensions to Smith’s work.
The open air exhibition that draws visitors into the City, transforming the EC3 insurance area also includes works from
internationally renowned artists: Cerith Wyn Evans, Lynn Chadwick, Ben Long, Julian Wild, Nigel Hall, Paul Hosking,
Peter Randall-Page, Antony Gormley, Jim Lambie and Richard Wentworth. In its fourth year, Sculpture in the City
aims to enhance our urban environment with cutting-edge contemporary works from leading artists which are placed in
both busy thoroughfares and quieter, green spaces.
Sculpture in the City is a unique collaboration between the City of London Corporation (the elected body which looks
after the Square Mile global business district around St Paul’s), local businesses and the art world, providing the
opportunity to engage new audiences with established and emerging contemporary artists. Sculpture in the City is
delivered through a partnership between 30 St Mary Axe, Aon, Aviva, British Land, Brookfield Office Properties,
Hiscox, Tower 42, Willis and WRBC Development UK Limited with the additional support of project patrons Leadenhall
Market and MTEC. With thanks to the artists and galleries; Annely Juda Fine Art; Blain Southern; Lisson Gallery; Lucy
Drury; Marlborough Contemporary; New Art Centre, Roche Court Sculpture Park; Sadie Coles HQ; White Cube;
William Benington Gallery. Sculpture in the City is facilitated and delivered by the City of London Corporation.
Free family events and tours will be held during Archikids Festival 26-27 July and Open House, 20-21 September.
Complementary educational programming run by Open-City will inspire schoolchildren during the project installation,
held in the iconic towers of the area and around the artwork sites from St Botolphs to Great St Helen’s, and the
Gherkin area down to Leadenhall Market.
END