Emma won a competition to produce art work for Stanhope plc.
The competition is part of a collaboration between Stanhope and the Royal College of Art Alumni. Emma has produced a drawing inspired by the BBC Television Centre, White City, London, during it’s redevelopment – this is one of their most recent and ongoing projects.
Other cultural developments by Stanhope include; Tate Modern, Royal Opera House, National Gallery Sainsbury Wing, Serpentine Pavilion and Glyndebourne, Sussex.
‘Helios, the Sun God from Greek mythology, stands high up in the centre of what was once a fountain in the middle of the courtyard named after him at the BBC Television Centre, Wood Lane. He was placed there to symbolise the radiation of television light around the world. What struck me as I first entered this space on a particularly sunny, cold November morning was the light, both direct and reflected. The courtyard was bathed, somewhat dramatically, in blinding sunlight casting dark shadows around the circular space, creating an almost theatrical set with strong contrasting tones.’
‘The building itself was at an interesting stage of redevelopment. It resonated with me personally, as it was a building I grew up almost in awe of, a place from which programmes were produced that informed my childhood. Yet there it was, emerging from the scaffolding, semi boarded-up and at the beginning of slowly transforming into its new function with 21st Century aspirations and needs.’
‘It’s exciting to see the BBC Television Centre being reborn. Helios will always remain symbolic, his presence assured high above the courtyard, representing the light was and is and always will be. I hope that my artwork, ‘Light’, in some way captures the moment in time I experienced, the middle stage of the regeneration of what must be one of this country’s most familiar pieces of 1960s architecture: it was a privilege to make a piece of work inspired by it.’
December 2015
