The former power station converted into a gallery in 2000 stood for many years as a symbol of industry, both an echo and a challenge to St. Paul’s, just across the Thames.
The original symbolic relationship between these two cathedrals has developed, through Herzog & De Meuron’s intervention, into a dialogue between art and religion. This is emphasised by the creation of Norman Foster’s Millennium Bridge, which directly links the south axis of St. Paul’s with the north entrance to the Tate Modern. The relationship of these symbolic structures however was an uneasy one that terminates in the view to a secondary bookshop adjacent to the Tate’s north entrance. We were asked to convert this bookshop into a gallery and create within it a new window which would define this relationship more clearly.
The space was designed to house the 2004 exhibition series ‘Untitled:’ an ‘exploration of the human condition in public and private environments and their presentation of space in these spheres’. During the project, we co-operated with artists Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Bragset on their inaugural exhibition.