Anne Hardy
Destination London, 2021
Please note that Destination London is situated in the arrivals corridor at London City Airport, and is not freely accessible to those visiting The Line.
Anne Hardy’s commission for London City Airport, Destination London, aims to communicate a vivid sense of the layered histories of London, expressed through the diverse but often overlooked botanical life found around London City Airport, including service areas and runway. Through a series of imagined and atmospheric landscapes, presented as a sequence of four large photogram artworks, visitors will encounter the rich flora of the local area.
Reflecting on the movement of people and materials, and on the connections that water and air create between London and the rest of the world, Hardy’s proposal references City Airport’s unique position within the Royal Docks, surrounded by the River Thames, and its close proximity to domestic gardens, allotments, corporate planting and wild spaces. London is one of the greenest capitals in the world, with over 3,000 parks and green spaces, and numerous diverse species, including weeds and exotics, can be found throughout the city. When travelling, humans have always brought plants, seeds and roots with them and the diversity of plant life reflected in this commission references these historical journeys.
Courtesy the artist and Maureen Paley, London
Supported by
Biography
Anne Hardy is internationally recognised for her large-scale sculptural installations: immersive, sensual works that combine physical materials with lighting and surround sound. These works derive from places she calls ‘pockets of wild space’ – gaps in the urban space where materials, atmospheres, and emotions gather.
Hardy brings this approach to her commission for London City Airport, seeking out the overlooked and diverse botanical material in the surrounding urban space, and drawing on the specific atmosphere of this post industrial landscape at the edge of Thames to create a series of large scale photograms.
Anne Hardy was recently commissioned by Tate Britain, London to create ‘The Depth of Darkness, the Return of the Light’ for their annual Winter Commission and is currently included in the landmark touring exhibition British Art Show 9. In 2022 she will exhibit at the Merz Foundation in Turin, as part of the shortlist for Mario Merz Prize, and will be artist in residence at the Chinati Foundation in Marfa, Texas. In 2019, Hardy was invited to curate the Arts Council Collection, creating a site specific sensory installation, ‘The Weather Garden’ at Towner Art Gallery, UK (2019). Recent solo exhibitions and commissions include ‘Sensory Spaces #13’, Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Netherlands (2018), Museum Marta Herford Museum, Germany (2018), ‘Falling and Walking’ at Leeds Art Gallery (2018) and ArtNight, London (2017). Hardy’s works are held in major public collections including; Tate, Victoria and Albert Museum, British Council, Arts Council Collection, and Leeds Art Gallery.
Images:
1-2. Andrew Baker
3. Anne Hardy
4-5. Andrew Baker
6. Anne Hardy
7. Jeff Moore
8. Anne Hardy
WATCH: Destination London by Anne Hardy
