Pae White: Public Art, London, 2024

The Escalator Permanent Public Art Commission

Launched Summer 2024

Somethinging by Pae White is a large, experiential installation. It floats across four levels of shops and restaurants both above and below ground, opening out onto a new public piazza and framing the entrance to the new landmark 14 storey workspace designed by Renzo Piano Building Workshop.

It is the Los Angeles-based artist’s first public realm commission in London and one of three new permanent public artworks at Paddington Square. The artwork was selected from an invited-competition curated by Lacuna and selected by an independent jury.

“Somethinging suggests movement, lightness, dance, conviviality. Familiar patterns entwine and overlap with secret modules of colours revealing themselves and rewarding the viewer as they physically move around the piece.  These modules frame the sky and surrounds as two forms circle each other in a dance of suspended optimism.”

– Pae White

Paddington Square is London’s new quarter for work, culture, retail and dining at the heart of Paddington’s regeneration, with a 14-storey crystalline building designed by the leading architecture practice, Renzo Piano Building Workshop. It also includes a new Bakerloo Line entrance for the London Underground, west London’s highest rooftop dining experience and a 1.35-acre public square, providing a world-class welcome to London for local, regional and international visitors.

The Paddington Square Public Art Programme was developed as part of the Section 106 Condition (a compulsory planning requirement of urban developments in the UK), in collaboration with St. Mary’s Hospital, local businesses and residential associations, with strong engagement from Westminster City Council. It presents newly commissioned, site-specific artworks by critically acclaimed contemporary artists with no prior permanent projects in London’s public realm.

The Paddington Square Public Art Programme was commissioned by Great Western Developments and curated by Lacuna.