Cornerstone
by Austin Emery (2020)
Location: Recently arrived in Tanner Street Park, next to Bermondsey Street, Cornerstone is located a little south of its sister sculpture, The Shared, and just north of Eames Fine Art Print Rooms and the White Cube gallery.
Cornerstone is a community sculpture. It is assembled from over 100 stone carvings created by children and adult participants from the Whites Grounds Estate, Bermondsey Street, during free and open sculpture workshops. It also incorporates stone fragments of historic London including Southwark Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, Houses of Parliament and even bones from the River Thames. The community sculpture project was conceived by Austin Emery in answer to the need for more resident-led engagement initiatives. He and the workshop participants used the process of stone carving to bring people from all walks of life together to create something long-lasting for their neighbourhood.
‘Working together, making a stone landmark, transforming the material, the space, ourselves and each other… our physical and social reality.’ Austin Emery
Supported by BermondseyStreet.London in collaboration with Southwark Council and The Mayor of London, LEAP, MSM, PAYE and Team London Bridge.
Connections: This project follows the success of The Shared an award-winning sculpture (just up the road) that was created through a similar process by Austin Emery.
