Play Sculpture
by Isamu Noguchi, c. 1965-1980 (fabricated 2025), commissioned by Tideway
Tideway has commissioned the fabrication of an artwork for the new public realm site at Heathwall Quay. The work is available from the Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum and White Cube. Although not a unique work, it will be the only permanent one in the public realm in the UK. Play Sculpture is a multi-functional sculpture that doubles as public furniture, offering a place to sit, lie and view the river.
The ‘cultural meander’ or heritage theme for the Central section of the tunnel is ‘Babylon to World City: Civic London’. The site-specific narrative is for the two sites, Kirtling Street Pumping Station and Heathwall Pumping Station. Both sites are located within the extensive area of low-lying land that was improved as a result of the endeavours of 17th century Huguenot immigrant market gardeners, who settled in London to escape religious persecution following the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685.
The arrival in London of Flemish Protestants and French Huguenot refugees from the mid-17th century contributed to the social and economic development of host communities. Semi-rural villages surrounding London, such as Wandsworth and Battersea, were preferred settlement locations, as food and housing were cheaper and trade less exposed to City of London guild control.
The Huguenot’s founded various charitable and education institutions that gave the immigrant community a degree of self-reliance within the new host country. One of their notable achievements was in the field of horticulture, advancing scientific approaches through the development of intensive market gardens and Osier beds at places like Nine Elms and Battersea, which were a major supplier of fresh vegetables, notably asparagus (known as ‘Battersea bundles’), to the nearby city.
The Huguenot gardeners of collected night soil to make heated beds. This in turn increased productivity and created a microclimate that allowed vegetables and flowers unseen before in London to flourish. These market gardens, that occupied the low-lying riparian zone nearby, were a vital source of fresh food to fuel the expanding city.
The artwork references this organic waste and growth. The balance of waste to growth resonates through time, from the present Tideway operations, through to the improvements made by Bazalgette, and back to the market gardens of the Huguenot immigrants in Battersea and Nine Elms. The form of Play Sculpture was developed using sections of (American) sewer pipe – in this case, six pieces of the type known as 'long elbows' (bent at the sharpest possible 90-degree angle before it would become clogged) which form a sinuous, undulating loop.
The sculpture acts as seating and will be located on the north west side of the site, directly overlooking the river to encourage people to sit and contemplate the views out to the east and west, but also to look into the site during events and activities. It is painted ‘Noguchi iron oxide red’ and measures 2616mm wide and at the highest point is 1118mm high. The artwork sits on three points creating a dynamic form which will add colour and interest to the site.
