One More Time is the first artwork in the recently announced partnership between HS1 Ltd. (owners of St Pancras International station) and the Royal Academy of Arts to develop Terrace Wires. Terrace Wires is the fourth leg of London’s rotational public art spaces, alongside the Fourth Plinth, Serpentine Gallery and the Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall and offers 48 million travellers each year the chance to experience the latest contemporary art as they pass through the station.Suspended from the Grade 1 listed Barlow Shed roof, One More Time is a working replica of the station’s iconic DENT London clock, reversed out in black with white hands and numerals and silver detail. It is made from aluminium, steel and Jesmonite and measures 5.44 metres in diameter.
The black clock is situated 16 metres in front of its inspiration, so for those alighting from the trains, the original face will gradually appear eclipsed. The artwork is made with DENT London clocks.
Cornelia Parker RA said One More Time is conceived to invoke meditative thoughts on the passage of time, life and mortality:
The clock is the most conscious focus of a railway station, a dominant force. Everyone is watching the clock, checking if they are late. The piece will introduce the idea of a parallel frame of reference, that of a slower astronomical time.
Nicola Shaw, CEO at HS1 Ltd. (owners of St Pancras International) and Terrace Wires head judge said:
This year marks the third birthday of Terrace Wires and we are pleased to be celebrating with this new partnership and Cornelia Parker’s One More Time. For many of St Pancras’ visitors, the clock has a central importance – it helps them as they rush on their commute and it helps Eurostar passengers remember the change in time zone as they travel to or from the continent. It’s really good to see Parker’s interesting take on that. I hope that all our visitors will take a bit of time and look up at the piece and enjoy the gradual eclipse which can be experienced at different points throughout the station.
Tim Marlow, Director of Artistic Programmes at the Royal Academy of Arts, said:
The RA is pleased to be working with HS1 Ltd. to present Britain’s foremost artists on a huge scale to London, UK and international audiences at St Pancras International. I hope that this partnership between the RA and HS1 Ltd. is the beginning of something momentous in one of London’s great public spaces – St Pancras station. I’m immensely proud that Cornelia Parker is launching the project – she is one of the most inventive and talented artists in the world.
One More Time by Cornelia Parker RA can be viewed at St Pancras International station until early November 2015.