Untitled

Untitled by jewellery designer Jo Hayes Ward is located at Queen’s Wharf, Hammersmith. It is a permanent artwork on the façade of the new Riverside Studios building, commissioned by Mount Anvil and curated by Futurecity. It was announced to the public in May 2019.

Futurecity managed the commission from concept through to completion. We worked with Mount Anvil to establish the opportunities and constraints of the project, develop the Artist Brief and manage the artist selection process. A shortlist of artists was invited to develop concept designs and the winning artist selected by a panel comprising representatives from Mount Anvil and Riverside Studios. Futurecity acted as curatorial advisor, client representative, artist liaison and quality control monitor throughout the delivery process.

Queen’s Wharf sits next to Grade II listed Hammersmith Bridge on the bank of the River Thames. It is a mixed-use development, designed by Assael Architecture, which incorporates the world-renowned cultural venue, Riverside Studios. The brief for the commission was for it to become an integral feature of the Riverside Studios building which both introduces it to the public and welcomes them into it. The artwork was to complement the architecture and activity of Riverside Studios and its surrounding environment, and its proximity to the water. It was to enhance the cultural identity of Queen’s Wharf, by embedding a high-quality artwork within the public realm for all to experience.

British jewellery designer Jo Hayes Ward was selected for the commission for her unique, metamorphic designs, and her aesthetic inspired by architecture, nature, geology and mathematical patterns. This is Hayes Ward’s first public realm commission and the first project at this architectural scale. The artwork is inspired by aerial photographs and maps of the local area and River Thames. Hayes Ward wanted to convey ideas of moving water, gravity, journey, the coming together of ideas, and the tension between order and pattern, versus noise and chaos. Her design reflects the topography of the local Hammersmith area, and conveys the concept of the coming together of people, buildings and ideas to form a vibrant whole. It combines five formations of steel plate which capture and refract light at different times of day, creating dramatic shadows. A large cast aluminum bronze cube functions at the centerpiece of the artwork referencing Hayes Ward’s signature geometric style. Untitled was fabricated by Millimetre.

Hayes Ward says: ‘I knew that the artwork needed to respond to its location; a vibrant urban environment, close to the banks of the River Thames and the new home of a creative hotspot of innovation and ideas. I wanted the artwork to celebrate all these elements.’

This is one of three commissions curated by Futurecity for Mount Anvil across London; the others are Column by Studio Swine and Ecliptical Spheres by James Hopkins.

• Read interview with Jo Hayes Ward about her work here
• Read more about Jo Hayes Ward here
• Read more about Queen’s Wharf here
• Read more about Riverside Studios here