A large atmospherically derelict room inside Peckham Rye station will open to the public in May, as it’s used for an art installation.
Running through the summer, New York-based artist Sarah Sze will transform the disused Victorian waiting room at Peckham Rye station in south London with a new site-specific sculptural installation.
Although referred to as a waiting room, it was for some time known as a billiard hall and used by station staff. Then for reasons that seem unclear, it was boarded up about 50 years ago and basically forgotten. In 2009, restoration started, initially making the floors safe and replacing some of the rotted windows.
Sze employs painting, sculpture, drawing, printmaking and video to build immersive works that integrate everyday materials, torn photographs and a multitude of flickering videos in immersive environments with their own fragile ecologies.
In Sze’s latest artwork, an atmospheric construction of cascading lines will emerge from the centre of the long-forgotten space within the railway station. Extending from floor to ceiling, the structure embodies a growth process in a state of formation and flux. The sculpture is animated by fragments of moving images that illuminate its core, creating a vast magic lantern.
The exhibition will be open from 19th May to 17th September and will be free to visit.
Opening Times:
- Wednesday-Saturday: Noon to 8pm
- Sunday: 11am – 5pm
Co-commissioned by Artangel, the exhibition is supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies and The Arch Company.
Hi there, as someone who is working on the installation you won’t need a train ticket to enter as the entrance is separate from the station, you will need to book a ticket via ArtAngel but it’s free. Thanks
But how do we book tickets? Nothing on the ArtAngel website (https://www.artangel.org.uk/) that I can see.
Nice to see The Arch Co involved. They got a lot of stick for taking over the railway arches, but seem to be doing a good job in upcycling them, as at London Bridge.
This could be monumental! Up there with the Oscar Wilde temple and Ragnar’s the visitors installation and it opens on mine, and grace jones birthday.
I cannot see anything on the Art Angel website about this exhibition.
Can’t wait to visit when I am next in London.
Does anyone know if it is wheelchair accessible?
Having been in the past, it is up a broad staircase (separate from the station itself) so not accessible by wheelchair. Sorry
Peckham Rye station is not wheelchar accessible. That’s why they have an ongoing station upgrade plan. To make it more accessible but don’t know when will be done.
Access arrangements on ArtAngel site
https://www.artangel.org.uk/sarah-sze/access-information-the-waiting-room/