The Society has helped save two important sculptures from the scrapyard. Tony Coleman reports on their finding a new home at Denmark Hill station
The first sculpture is of two wooden figures, a man and a woman, carved by Stephan Balkenhol, professor of sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts Karlsruhe, who carved the tree trunk directly. It is rough but full of strength and character, with imperfections just like humans.
The second, called Evergreen, by David Batchelor, is a seven metre tall tree in aluminium, illuminated with green acrylic panels.
In its proposed location at the station, the piece will link the wilderness woodlands of railway cuttings with the metallic world of the railway and the station. Because it stands so tall, engineers must build a safe, secure base to support it. So it will be a year or two before we will see it erected.
Both exhibits had been removed from More London next to Tower Bridge and stored in a very dusty basement under the old City Hall. On one exciting morning they were all loaded on to an enormous truck and brought to Camberwell.
Our photograph shows Evergreen being unloaded and placed behind the wall on Windsor Walk for storage. It is planned to have the two figures on display at the station before Christmas. You may glimpse them before then in their compound next to the Windsor Walk entrance. They are quite striking.
