Art / public art
World renowned Bristol artists John Wood and Paul Harrison win Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus public art commission
Both alumni of Bath College of Higher Education, the internationally acclaimed video and experimental artists John Wood and Paul Harrison have been collaborating since 1993.
Creating work at their studio at Spike Island, they have an interest in playing with scale and movement, particularly in terms of how the human body relates to the environment surrounding it.
Their art has been exhibited at MOMA and in Times Square, New York, as well as Tate Britain, Centre Pompidou in Paris and the Palais de Tokyo.
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Midnight Moment, Wood and Harrison. The work was screened nightly on +80 screens in New York’s Times Square (2022) – photo: Maria Baranova
The pair have been announced as the recipients of the University of Bristol’s Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus (TQEC) public art commission, and will be making a new permanent artwork to be installed on the site.
Construction is well underway at TQEC, with the new campus set to be open in the Autumn of 2026. When complete, it will be a base for 4,600 students, 650 staff and multiple industry and civic partners, and will be an important new home for research, education and innovation led by the University of Bristol.
Professor Beth Williamson is chair of the University’s public art advisory panel. “We are delighted that Wood and Harrison will be bringing their unique and playful work to us on this major commission,” she enthuses.
Paul Harrison on site at TQEC – photo: University of Bristol
“As Bristol-based artists with a significant international reach, and with a particularly wide intergenerational appeal, they are especially well-suited to producing something exciting for this public space within our new campus.”
As to what visitors can expect from the new work will be, the duo aren’t yet sure, reflecting: “We’ve worked together for over 30 years now, we’ve made a lot of work; videos, sculptures, drawings, prints and some things that don’t fit into any of those categories.
“But this is our first commission for a permanent public work. It’s quite scary, but also and interesting challenge. We don’t really know what we are going to make yet, but that’s always the case when we are making something new, so it’s a good sign. Honestly.”
TQEC Construction 2024 – photo: University of Bristol
The University is being supported on this venture by the Contemporary Art Society *Consultancy who curate and manage a range of projects in different contexts and environments to produce collections, events and public art commissions across the UK.
To find out more visit the University of Bristol public art website or follow @bristol_uni_publicart.
Main photo: University of Bristol (John Wood on TQEC site)
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