Slipstream is a sculpture by Richard Wilson, created in 2014 for the wholly re-built Terminal 2 at Heathrow Airport, London. The large art intervention of aviation relevance was loosely specified, approved and project managed by Mark Davy, founder of the cultural and place-making agency Futurecity for the airport as owner. It is currently the largest privately funded sculpture for a commercial site in Europe.[1] The winning proposal was selected from a shortlist of five international artists.
The sculpture is over 70 metres (230 ft) long and weighs 77 tonnes (76 long tons; 85 short tons).[2] The structural engineers Price & Myers and specialist fabricators Commercial Systems International (CSI) were tasked with making the sculpture.[3]
Wilson's intention is "to transpose the thrill of the air‐show to the architectural environment of the international air terminal".[4]
Reconstruction of Terminal 2 started in 2010, and it was officially reopened on 4 June 2014. The sculpture received the 2014 Marsh Award for Excellence in Public Sculpture.[5]
References
- ^ Siegle, Lucy (21 September 2013). "Giant vapour trail sculpture takes shape at Heathrow". BBC News. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
- ^ "Twice world champion stunt pilot Paul Bonhomme recreates the tumble of Richard Wilson's Slipstream".
- ^ "Richard Wilson sculpture to dominate Heathrow's Terminal 2".
- ^ "Slipstream".
- ^ "Marsh Award for Excellence in Public Sculpture". Marsh Charitable Trust. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
