Track Down These Head-Turning New Sculptures In The Square Mile

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Track Down These Head-Turning New Sculptures In The Square Mile
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Florian / Kevin by Sarah Lucas is more impressive in real life than a photo can show. The pair of golden marrows are positioned between the Gherkin and the Cheesegrater, as though to offer a monumental picnic.
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A tower of blue boxes teeters on the edge of Leadenhall Market. Axis Mundi by Jürgen Partenheimer.
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A tour group inspect the monolithic head, known as Laura by Jaume Plensa. It resembles an Easter Island head that's been forced into a gherkin-shaped mould, appropriate given the location beneath the Gherkin.
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The Orientalist by Huma Bhabha watches over a building site beneath the Willis Building.
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A pair of heads stare out onto Bishopsgate. Not many heads looks back. Sunrise. East. July / Sunrise. East. October by Ugo Rondinone.
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Aurora by Anthony Caro is, on the face of it, just a piece of rescued machinery painted red. Sited between the grey Willis Building and the greyer Lloyds Building, it shines out like a beacon.
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The most subtle work in the show is Untitled by Enrico David. A barely figurative form leans (collapses?) against a wall beneath the Gherkin. From a distance, it looks like a walking stick, but up close there's a poignancy to the work.
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A leftover from last-year's Sculpture in the City, we're pleased to see that Shan Hur's Broken Pillar #12 retains its place outside St Helen's church. It's a subtly powerful piece, in which a delicate vase is embedded in a concrete post.
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Weirdo montage award goes to Benedetto Pietromarchi for Of Saints and Sailors, a curious combination of sculpted heads and industrial paraphernalia. Its location in St Helen's Courtyard, next to the giant Wimbledon screen, makes things doubly surreal.
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The plum position for any artist in Sculpture in the City is this spot in front of the Gherkin. Last year's giant charity figure by Damien Hirst is replaced by a series of rocks in a bronze deciduous tree, otherwise known as Idee de Pietra - 1372 KG Di Luce by Guiseppe Penone

Every year, Sculpture in the City places around 20 works of contemporary art into the north-east corner of the Square Mile. The latest crop has just been unleashed.

This year's artists include household names such as Sarah Lucas, Gavin Turk and Anthony Caro, but equally impressive contributions come from the lesser-known artists. For the first time, the trail includes a digital artwork, footage of the surface of the sun, presented by Petroc Sesti. Around half of the works are shown in the gallery above.

The trail is free to explore and will be in place for the rest of summer. Simply head over to the Square Mile, particularly the area around the Gherkin and Cheesegrater, and get exploring. Instagram users are encouraged to tag their photos with SITC @visitthecity.

Last Updated 28 June 2016