New sculpture in St Pancras from Londonist on Vimeo.
A bronze frieze dipicting scenes from railway life has been erected around St Pancras' notorious sculpture of a nuzzling couple.
The mammoth statue has become something of a love/hate landmark on the station concourse. Some think The Meeting Place is the perfect symbol of rail departure; others, including Antony Gormley, dismiss it as crap.
The new base, however, is undeniably impressive. Artist Paul Day, who created the main statue, has returned with a perspective-bending frieze that shows scenes from the station's past and present. Day's exceptionally high-relief sculptural technique will be familiar to anyone who's walked along the Embankment (Battle of Britain memorial) or the Mall (Queen Mum friezes). This new work trumps even those fine installations for its character and depth of perspective.
The piece caused minor controversy last year, when early clay models depicted a person under a train, a one-fingered salute and a tongue-probing couple. The final work is less controversial, but still contains challenging scenes of loneliness and lewdness.
