Opening the Lock Gate

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“Opening the Lock Gate” by Ian Rank-Broadley, 2020
City Road, Islington
London, May 2023

“Walked along City Road recently? The road is unrecognisable from its appearance a decade ago. A half-dozen recent skyscrapers have transformed the skyline. One of them — the tallest, it seems — is 250 City Road, a Norman Foster-designed residential tower for Berkeley group, about half-way along on the south side of the road. Most huge developments come with a sculpture or two these days, and 250 is no exception. The debut piece is by Ian Rank-Broadley. It's known as ‘Opening the Lockgate’, and depicts an attempt at just that. Why canal workers? Well, across the road, behind another pair of towers, is the City Road Basin, once an important hub of the Regent's Canal. The sculpture is both geographically and temporally fitting, since the canal reaches its 200th birthday this year.” (New Sculpture Celebrates Heritage of the Regent's Canal, Londonist)