A grand piano has been suspended over the former BBC Television Centre in White City, by the Turner Prize nominated artist Catherine Yass. This is one of eight artist residencies at the west London site which was officially opened by the Queen in 1960.
The project was chosen from over 360 submissions to an open call, each artist has responded to a brief to create a unique experience in the site’s East Tower, which is set for demolition and redevelopment later in the year. The residencies have been commissioned by White Noise, a live research project about urban change, and are running between 9 June and 31 July 2016.
Catherine Yass has represented the UK at the Indian Triennale and was shortlisted for the Turner Prize in 2002. Her work features in a number of major important collections worldwide including Tate, London.
Catherine Yass’s proposal evokes the presence and absence of the building. It builds on a body of work that engages with extraordinary aerial views and daring actions – from Descent, made from the top of a crane in London’s Docklands in 2002, to High Wire, commissioned by Artangel in 2008 and made on the Red Road Estate, Glasgow, a film which charted the progress of a tightrope walker from one tower to another.
White Noise is a project about cities and people based in White City. White Noise are using a range of artistic commissions, exploratory journalism and site-specific interventions to explore the area and to help inform its future evolution in a way that benefits everyone who lives, works and plays in White City. White Noise is supported by Stanhope and taking place in collaboration with a range of local residents, groups and stakeholders in White City.