Happenings Conrad Shawcross: UMBILICAL at Here East
This week, British contemporary artist Conrad Shawcross premiered UMBILICAL, a monumental new commission for MONA (Museum of Old and New Art, Tasmania), presented in partnership with Here East and supported by The Wick.
Conrad Shawcross, celebrated for his pioneering explorations into geometry and mechanics, unveiled his most ambitious rope machine to date. Suspended from a 12-metre structure, the sculpture weaves a rope that never repeats, a feat of sculptural engineering that mirrors the orbits of our solar system. A decade in the making from his Hackney studio, UMBILICAL represents a landmark in Shawcross’s practice.
The evening opened with a welcome from V&A Director Tristram Hunt, who spoke of the vital educational growth and cultural placemaking that East Bank is offering to the capital. Guests were then treated to a performance by Korean pianist Yeonjoon Yoon, whose piece echoed the sculpture’s own never-repeating patterns. Royal Salute cocktails provided an elegant complement to the industrial–meets–inventive setting as guests explored the vast work, exploring its movement in space and time.
Within the space, guests also discovered two earlier Shawcross works, Ode to the Difference Engine (2007) and Yarn (2001), which reveal Conrad’s initial explorations into the perception of time and our reliance on metaphor to describe it.
The evening’s production brought together a dynamic collaboration of expertise: TM Lighting illuminated the vast sculpture with museum-quality precision, Brier shaped the design and creative support, and Structure Workshop provided the technical mastery that enabled the work’s daring scale.
Conrad Shawcross (b. 1977) is a Royal Academician and leading British sculptor whose work explores the intersections of geometry, philosophy, and science. Known for his monumental mechanical and structural forms, he often draws on abandoned scientific theories to create striking public commissions worldwide.
Here East on the Olympic Park Stratford is London’s home for making. It’s a dedicated campus in Hackney designer by and for the makers of the future.
UMBILICAL is open now to the public until 2 November. Free to view and open 10am – 6pm everyday.
UMBILICAL
Timber Yard
Here East (adjacent to V&A Storehouse)
Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
E15 2GW
