The Wick List

Viewing Conrad Shawcross: UMBILICAL at Here East

The Wick Culture - Conrad Shawcross, UMBILICAL. Courtesy of the artist. Photo by Richard Ivey

Above Conrad Shawcross, UMBILICAL. Courtesy of the artist. Photo by Richard Ivey

The Wick Culture - Conrad Shawcross, UMBILICAL. Courtesy of the artist

Above Conrad Shawcross, UMBILICAL. Courtesy of the artist

The Wick Culture - Conrad Shawcross, Ode to Difference. Courtesy of the artist

Above Conrad Shawcross, Ode to Difference. Courtesy of the artist

The Wick Culture - Conrad Shawcross, Yarn. Courtesy of the artist

Above Conrad Shawcross, Yarn. Courtesy of the artist

Above Conrad Shawcross, UMBILICAL. Courtesy of the artist. Photo by Richard Ivey

Above Conrad Shawcross, UMBILICAL. Courtesy of the artist

Above Conrad Shawcross, Ode to Difference. Courtesy of the artist

Above Conrad Shawcross, Yarn. Courtesy of the artist

Conrad Shawcross: UMBILICAL

Here East
11 September – 02 November 2025

It’s a week of extraordinary public art and monumental sculpture in London – next up is Conrad Shawcross’ UMBILICAL, a new work commissioned for Tasmania’s The Museum of Old and New Art (MONA).

UMBILICAL is part of the artist’s ‘Rope Makers’ rope machines – but this iteration is the most ambitious and complex to date, reaching 10 metres high and stretching to more than 12 metres in diameter.

Shawcross began to think about making rope machines more than two decades ago, while still a student. From a wild late night idea, they are now a reality: this one consists of 40 interlocking arms that move in circular motions that never repeat – a feat of both creativity and mechanic ingenuity – to weave a spiralling rope. Inspired by astronomy, they map the awe-inspiring, jaw-dropping chaos, instability and the inevitable passing of time.

Here East on the Olympic Park Stratford is London’s home for making. It’s a dedicated campus in Hackney designed by and for the makers of the future.