International artists Jesse Wine and Haffendi Anuar announced as winners of the inaugural ‘Powerhouse Commission’
Battersea Power Station and CASS Sculpture Foundation have today, Tuesday 8 August, announced internationally acclaimed artists Jesse Wine and Haffendi Anuar as joint winners of the inaugural ‘Powerhouse Commission’. The artists’ winning proposals will be unveiled at Battersea Power Station’s Circus West Village in September.
Battersea Power Station’s ‘Powerhouse Commission,’ in partnership with CASS Sculpture Foundation, aims to provide international artists with an exceptional opportunity to achieve new levels of ambition by creating an outdoor sculpture.
The winners of this first iteration of the Commission were selected by a judging panel of experts; Jude Kelly, Cultural Advisor at Battersea Power Station; Anne Mullins, Head of Culture at Nine Elms Vauxhall Partnership; Misha Curson, Deputy Director, Cass Sculpture Foundation; Helen Turner, Curator at Cass Sculpture Foundation; and David Twohig, Chief Development Officer at Battersea Power Station.
Jesse Wine and Haffendi Anuar were chosen from a shortlist of nine international artists that included: Claire Barclay (UK); Olaf Breuning (Switzerland); Conrad Shawcross (UK); Yutaka Sone (Japan); Nina Beier (Denmark); Raphael Hefti (Switzerland) and Bedwyr Williams (UK). All nine shortlisted artists were invited to submit proposals for outdoor sculptures to be installed at Battersea Power Station.
British-born, New York-based Jesse Wine’s work will mirror the timeline of Battersea Power Station through the historical development of sculpture during the same period, from 1933 through to the present day. The work will directly reference Battersea Power Station’s local history of sculpture by re-creating and re-interpreting the work of Henry Moore, who studied at the Royal College of Art and presented work in Battersea Park. At the same time, it will retain Wine’s signature style, adorned with depictions of objects – including cups of tea, sandwiches, notepads and flat caps – suggesting a huddle of workers paused for a tea break on this icon of 20th century British art.
For his commissioned sculpture, Malaysian artist Haffendi Anuar will create a site-specific series of pilotis, traditional architectural columns that lift a building above ground or water, and which are commonly found in stilted dwellings, such as fishermen’s huts, across Asia. Within the context of Battersea Power Station, Machines for Modern Living are intended as surrogates of BPS’ chimneys. By installing them on ground level at Circus West, their presence will be anchored to the site, bringing the distant chimneys of Battersea Power Station within grasp. The complex forms of the sculptures with their angular stacks allude to both western minimalism and traditional Malaysian-Indonesian architecture.
Once unveiled, Wine’s and Anuar’s sculptures will remain in situ for three months, adding to the variety of public art that London currently has to offer.
As with all other works at CASS, the two ‘Powerhouse’ commissions will be available for sale. Proceeds from the sales will be invested directly into future commissions.
Clare Hindle, CASS Executive Director, said: “Eighteen years ago Cass Sculpture Foundation established the commissioning process for the Fourth Plinth, Trafalgar Square with Mark Wallinger’s Ecce Homo. I am thrilled to continue our legacy of presenting contemporary sculpture at London’s most prestigious public platforms, while maintaining our core charitable endeavour: to champion exceptional talent and provide artists with unexampled opportunity.”
Clare Lilley, Director of Programme, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, and Curator of Frieze Sculpture Park, said: “Britain’s cultural industries are a dynamic part of our economy and global recognition, and providing opportunities for young and mid-career artists is a vital role of our institutions. It is hugely gratifying that Battersea Power Station and Cass Sculpture Foundation have forged a partnership that propels distinctive creative purpose in such an iconic environment and I’m certain that both the commission and programme are positioned to become exemplary features of London’s cultural activity, greatly benefiting both the successful artist and their public.”
David Twohig, Head of Design at Battersea Power Station, said: “The vision for Battersea Power Station is to create a new town centre with a diverse mix of users from office workers, to residents and visitors, all here to enjoy music venues, shops and restaurants, cinemas and galleries. But what is equally important to the success of a place is its active curation and animation.
“We have set this project up as a series of platforms, both internal and external spaces, where we invite creatives and artists to come and programme with a myriad of ideas and activities. Battersea Power Station should always seek to surprise and create a sense of wonder.
“Alongside our recently opened arts venue and activation of the riverside park, our arts programme seeks to provide a rotating calendar of commissions that constantly engage the visitor. This is the very ethos of what CASS is about and they have been a great support in getting our vision off the ground.”
Anne Mullins, Head of Culture Nine Elms Vauxhall Partnership said, “Congratulations to Jesse Wine and Haffendi Anuar and I look forward to seeing their sculptures in situ at Battersea Power Station. Our ambition is to develop Nine Elms as a distinctive and vibrant neighbourhood, that’s well connected to our existing communities and to the rest of London. We have a wealth of cultural assets, including an emerging gallery quarter, New Covent Garden Market, the new US Embassy and of course Battersea Power Station itself. The Powerhouse Commission is a fantastic new initiative that builds on the area’s cultural credentials, and strengthens our support yet further for London’s creative industries sector.”
The Powerhouse Commission forms part of Battersea Power Station’s wider vision to deliver a new cultural district for London that will build a sense of community and ownership around it and to widen access to culture for audiences in South West London. This is part of a long-term cultural investment that will take place over the multiple phases of the development as the new neighbourhood takes shape. Recent openings include the Village Hall, a new 5,000 sq ft multi-use arts venue created in partnership with Battersea Arts Centre, and a new public artwork by leading British artist and designer Morag Myerscough that welcomes residents and visitors to Circus West Village, the first phase of Battersea Power Station’s redevelopment.
The Malaysian shareholders of the Battersea Power Station project are committed to giving back to the communities in which they operate. They recognise the importance of creating shared value and this is embeded in all of their undertakings to ensure that they contribute to the community.
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Notes to Editors
About Battersea Power Station Development Company
Battersea Power Station is one of central London’s largest, most visionary and eagerly anticipated new developments in which roughly half the development comprises retail, shops, restaurants and office space – in addition there will be a six acre public park, town square and a new tube station (scheduled to be within Zone 1).
The Battersea Power Station project is 42 acres and includes 3.5m sq ft of mixed commercial accommodation together with c4,500 new homes.
The successful regeneration of Battersea Power Station will create 20,000 new jobs, inject £20bn into the UK economy and create a funding mechanism for the first major tube line extension since the Millennium.
The Battersea Power Station Foundation supports local charities and community projects, in its first year of operation, £1m in grants will have been awarded, and close to £2m will be awarded in 2017.
New home-owners have started moving into the first phase, Circus West Village, with the first commercial tenants opening in summer 2017.
Battersea Power Station is owned by a consortium of Malaysian investors comprising S P Setia, Sime Darby and the Employees’ Provident Fund. Management of the development is being undertaken by British based Battersea Power Station Development Company.
About CASS Sculpture Foundation
CASS Sculpture Foundation is a not-for-profit organization that inspires, enables and shares contemporary sculpture. It was founded in 1992 by Wilfred and Jeannette Cass in order to provide contemporary artists with exceptional commissioning and exhibition opportunity. CASS supports its commissioned artists at every step of the process, from conception to fabrication, exhibition and sale.
Based within 26-acres of woodland in West Sussex, the charity is open to visitors and presents an annual public programme of exhibitions and events. It is consequently home to an evolving display that has included sculptures by Eduardo Paolozzi, Thomas Heatherwick, Rachel Whiteread, Tony Cragg, Jake and Dinos Chapman and Sara Barker amongst others.
CASS is unparalleled in commissioning expertise and curatorial legacy and is funded primarily through sculpture sales. All of the works on display are available for sale, with proceeds funneled directly into future opportunities for artists. Other income streams include philanthropy and consultancy.
CASS established the commissioning process for the Fourth Plinth, Trafalgar Square, as well as producing Tony Cragg’s first large-scale, solo exhibition along Exhibition Road, London, in partnership witi the Victoria and Albert Museum, Science Museum and Natural History Museum.
CASS Visiting Details
Cass Sculpture Foundation
New Barn Hill
Goodwood, nr. Chichester
West Sussex
PO18 0QP
T: +44 (0)1243 538 449
Open year round 10.30 – 16.30 (last entry)
Closed 16 December – 3 January
Admission: Adult £12.50, Children (5 to 16) £6.50, Children under 5 visit free, Students £10, Concessions £10, Discounts on groups of 10+
Train: Nearest train stations are Chichester and Barnham. Taxis are available at both stations.
About Jesse Wine (b. 1983, Chester, UK; lives and works in Brooklyn, New York)
Jesse Wine has been working with and appropriating ceramics into his expanded sculptural practice since graduating from the Royal College of Art in 2010. Wine has a strong engagement with the process of making, creating works in a rich variety of styles and finishes, ranging from natural earthy glazes to glossy bold primary colours. Making use of traditional glazing and firing techniques, he often depicts icons of contemporary life, such as mugs, flip-flop sliders and disparate items of clothing.
Recent solo and groups shows include That continuous thing, Tate St Ives, UK (2017); Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York, USA (2016); Young man red, Gemeentemuseum, The Hague, Netherlands (2016); British Art Show, touring, UK (2015), Big Pictures, Limoncello, London, UK (2015) and Chester Man, Mary Mary Gallery, Glasgow, UK (2014). Wine is represented by Mary Mary Gallery in Glasgow, UK.
About Haffendi Anuar (b. 1985, Malaysia; lives and works in Kuala Lumpur)
Haffendi Anuar’s practice – which includes drawing, painting, installation, sculpture and photography – examines and explores the images, icons and architecture associated with progress and modernity in Malaysia, while also creating allusions to the culturally injected idea of Western modernism and art history. A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design in Provident and Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London, he examines how countries in Southeast Asia “progress” or develop through culture and technological advancements, linking these notions of progress and modernity to the natural process of organic growth in the natural world.
Recent solo and group shows include PERSONAL STRUCTURES, Time, Space, Existence in thecontext of the 57th Venice Biennale, Palazzo Mora and Palazzo Bembo, Venice, Italy (2017); Malaysian Art, A Special Preview, Richard Koh Fine Art, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (2016); Art Central Hong Kong (2016); and Art Taipei, Taiwan (2014). Anuar is represented by Richard Koh Fine Art in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.