University of Leeds: Simon Fujiwara
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The Details
Award-winning artist Simon Fujiwara has produced a new artwork for the Laidlaw Library. It sits between two former churches in Woodhouse Lane – close to the University’s iconic Parkinson Building and was commissioned as part of the development of the new building.
A Spire is his first public artwork. He said: “It came out of my thinking about the shift in production in Britain from heavy industry and mining, to a state of almost complete immaterial industry – entertainment, services, education.
Leeds exemplifies this shift – once a city of ‘100 chimneys’, much of its industrial history has been removed and a new, post-globalised urbanism flourishes. I wanted to respond to the city’s image as well as the library’s function as both a place for learning – often through new media rather than books – and make an object that would stand as a modern relic, catalysing and combining elements of the city’s past and possible future.”
*Consultancy worked with University of Leeds to develop a University-wide arts strategy and provided curatorial guidance to appoint the artist for the commission.
The University of Leeds Public Art Audio Trail
You can listen to CAS Senior Art Producer, Jordan Kaplan, talk about Simon Fujiwara's work as part of the University of Leeds Public Art audio trail.
