Studio Orta

A suspended meeting place, the sky is the agora of our imagination. 

Floating amid the glass-vaulted architecture of the historic Barlow Shed in St Pancras International station, the sculpture Meteoros resembles vast cumuli populated with travellers, a ‘magic carpet’ taking passengers on an imaginary journey in the skies. Meteoros is derived from ancient Greek, meaning raised from the ground, suspended, lofty or in the midst. Clouds have long been intercessors between reality and the imagination, between heaven and earth, lightness and gravity. They inhabit the skies of Renaissance fresco paintings, often depicted crowded with laymen and prophets, angels and deities. Throughout history, this celestial vault has been a site of conviviality, of learning and exchange. The work also carries a political message, through the imagery of the cloud it calls into question how mankind will share the vital resource of water on earth.

Meteoros was installed at St Pancras International Eurostar terminal in London (April 18 - October 10, 2013). Lucy + Jorge Orta were the first artists to be selected for Terrace Wires, an annually rotating public art program by HS1 Ltd and a cardinal welcome to the one-million visitors to the station each week.