Galerie Lelong & Co. is pleased to announce the installation of Catherine Yass’s NHS Swimmers as part of a new public art program at Paddington Square, London, UK.
The public art program of permanent and rotational artworks at Renzo Piano-designed Paddington Square was unveiled today, featuring works by artists Ugo Rondinone, Pae White and Catherine Yass, alongside a rotating outdoor art site for The Showroom gallery, launching with Kathrin Böhm; these artworks are the first London-based outdoor public art commissions for all four artists. The works were commissioned by Great Western Developments, owner of Paddington Square, working in conjunction with leading London-based cultural studio Lacuna.
In celebration of and in homage to NHS workers, Catherine Yass’s large-scale collaborative photographic installation takes over a 24-metre-long wall on Tanner Lane – neighboring St Mary’s Hospital. Photographed between Covid 19 restrictions, the image is constructed from over 200 photographs of ten NHS workers swimming underwater to make up a seamless whole. Partly inspired by Giotto’s angels in the Arena Chapel in Padua, Italy, the piece is made from sustainable vinyl and will be on view for 10 years. The swimmers were selected from an open call with Imperial College Healthcare Charity and represent the rich diversity of Saint Mary’s Hospital staff.
“Photographed between Covid restrictions, freedom of movement was a fabulous thing, and the break from the pressure of working in the hospital felt liberating. Up on the high wall the NHS workers appear to be flying as well as swimming, hovering over our heads like angels caring for the people below,” said the artist of the process and inspiration behind the work.
| About the Artist |
 Catherine Yass creates photographs and films that explore the relationship between physical and psychological space, namely how environments are constructed and experienced by their inhabitants, through an emphasis on temporal duration. Her signature photographic method involves manipulating both the exposure and development of the film, often layering a positive transparency over a negative. Yass then realizes the resultant images as lightboxes, prints, and films. Her technique yields images that are richly colored, ethereal abstractions that embody the dualities of reality and illusion, presence and absence. A Turner prize nominee, major commissions by Yass include Legacy, The Supreme Court of England, London, England (2020); Decommissioned, The Jewish Community Centre of London, England (2013); Rambert, Rambert Dance Company, England (2013); and Split Sides, Merce Cunningham, Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York (2003). Yass has shown in numerous museums and galleries worldwide including the Tate Modern, England; Irish Museum of Modern Art, Ireland; Museum of Contemporary Art Sydney, Australia; Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Israel; Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, Ohio; and Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C. Solo exhibitions of Yass’s films have been presented at Amibka P3, London, UK; the Saint Louis Art Museum, Missouri, and the Centre for Contemporary Arts Glasgow, Scotland. Her works are in numerous public collections including the Tate, England; Jewish Museum, New York; National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C.; and Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Scotland. Yass was born in 1963 in London, England, where she currently lives and works. |