British sculptor Nick Hornby is making a name for himself in London with three major public commissions that will be unveiled in the capital this year. Friends and admirers gathered yesterday to mark the launch of the first work, a six tonne, five meter high equestrian corten work located just opposite St James’s Park tube station. The book, which bears the rather catchy title Power over others is weakness disguised as strength (2023) – can be interpreted in different ways (depending on where you are), evoking a man on horseback and/or an ambiguous curling line. Scholar Hornby draws on the story, turning to the infamous monarch Richard I (Richard the Lionheart). The piece, commissioned by property developer Northacre, meanwhile stands in an auspicious location – the orchards of Westminster Abbey until the 1600s and, more recently, the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police. At a cozy dinner after the launch, when guests were treated to duck and chocolate mousse (not at the same time), self-deprecating Hornby said he had been working non-stop for two years on new orders with the next job—Here and there in David Chipperfield’s building at One Kensington Gardens, due to be unveiled next week… watch this space.
Nick Hornby at the post-launch dinner with the model of the sculpture.
courtesy of Gareth Harris
