ST PANCRAS station is a magnificent place to catch a train. From George Gilbert Scott's stunning gothic hotel front to William Henry Barlow's elegantly soaring iron and glass train shed, it's an uplifting location to start or end any journey. It's also home to one of the worst works of public art in the city.
Actually, there are several public works in St Pancras, thanks to a rather good series of temporary commissions that started in 2013, replacing the Olympic Rings that hung there throughout the summer of 2012.
Though many of these have been and gone, Tracey Emin's I Want My Time with You, a 20m-wide pink neon beneath the station clock, remains in place, for now. It's a great piece, striking and attractive, evoking but not prescribing an emotional narrative that anyone can tap into, particularly travellers.
Unfortunately, right in front of it sits Paul Day's vast, lumpen The Meeting Place, a violently out-sized bronze of two boringly dressed people embracing, that was described by Tim Marlow, then head of the Royal Academy, as terrible. Comparing it to the Cornelia Parker artwork that was being installed at the time, he said: "What you have here are two object lessons: one in how to do it, and the other how not to do it." The artist Jeremy Deller called it "barely a work of art".
Ouuuccchh. But Day's lovers are not alone in their awfulness. For every fascinating Nelson's Ship in a Bottle (Yinka Shonibare, at the National Maritime Museum), there's a hideous ArcelorMittal Orbit (Anish Kapoor, mortifying the Olympic Park in Stratford). For every elegant Winged Figure (Barbara Hepworth, on the side of John Lewis, Oxford Street) there's a world-beatingly naff Girl with Dolphin (David Wynne, near the east side of Tower Bridge).
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Only £65k a month to live like Boy George
The Karma Chameleon singer listed his house for £17m in 2022, turning down offers. Now, he's looking for a tenant
Welcome to London, unicorn capital of Europe
We're flying far ahead of anywhere outside US for tech investment
Arteta's Arsenal evolution The next phase
Malik Ouzia and Simon Collings assess how the Spaniard will try to bring down Man City after he signs up for another three years with the title in his sights
Title fight catches fire after Gunners embrace dark side
Arsenal-City clashes take on a welcome edge of animosity
Whack the hippy gong-boho's back
It happened in Paris one grey February day. Sienna Miller was in an oversized, black leather jacket, lace-trimmed silk slip and clumpy great wedges.
There's a Starlink waiting in the sky... 7,000 in fact.Can Elon Musk stop them crashing to Earth?
As he was preparing his fields for seeding this year, Barry Sawchuk came across a giant slab of space debris. It had come from a spacecraft belonging to Elon Musk’s company, SpaceX.
'Politicians are only into power-mongering, corruption and cronyism'
We speak to alt revolutionary DEEPAK CHOPRA about biomarkers, his digital twin and his work to save humanity from disease
I've been waiting for a production of Godotthis brilliant all my life
Ben Whishaw and Lucian Msamati bring a potent, tragicomic chemistry to James Macdonald’s rich revival of Samuel Beckett’s challenging play.
Trust me, the Ritz is London's bestrestaurant
To whom we turn in moments of gloom and glory can be instructive, a filter of our truest friends. I've fallen out with the Ritz a couple of times, including once after a visit to the bar which didn’t warrant a review (“But you said it was lovely!” they said.
'Healing is a dirty word'
After four traumatic years, FKA twigs is back with a new album -and a thrilling metamorphosis