Playing with an obvious idea. Proposition for a temporary sculpture in front of the National Gallery, London.
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A vivid response to this intense activity is found on the north side of the square, in the National Gallery where all the situations we can witness outside are mirrored in the depiction that artists from many countries, from many epochs, give of the observation of their time and culture. This connection creates a privileged dialogue between the 'today' and the 'timeless’; a dialogue that could be echoed in the organisation of the square.
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Until recently, the space was divided into three distinct zones by the presence of two walls.
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The suppression of the traffic in front of the gallery permitted the alteration of one of them with the creation of a large set of steps linking the two different levels of the square. This new situation totally changes the understanding of the place and the movements of people but...
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...it also gives a stronger presence to the plain wall that represents the façade of the gallery. Viewed from the square, the building presents itself as a rather rebarbative citadel...
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...while people coming out of the gallery find themselves confined on a kind of balcony, totally cut out from the square's life.
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The diagram about movements of people on site clearly shows that, even in crowded moments, the space directly in front of the building remains empty.
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The architectural form of the building seems actually to compel, as an adjunction, the presence of a contemporary version of the permanence, through times and places, of the conjunction of columns and stairs.
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The piece is not to be considered as an element of architecture but as a sculpture which, borrowing the shape of a flight of steps...
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...aims to link two different and complementary worlds. An arrangement of the spaces inside the building could provide wonderful receptions rooms directly open on one of the world most iconic public spaces. London 2004
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