South Wind, st James's Park, London. 1929

Eric Gill carved this stone sculpture of a reclining figure on a building in London. I love the way the figure is integrated into the architecture; she almost seems to be growing out of the building itself. When Gill was making this sculpture, was he thinking about classical forms? I like to imagine his hands on the stone, slowly coaxing out this figure, feeling the weight and texture of the material as the wind whipped around him in St. James's Park. Her eyes are closed, she is resting. The curves of her body contrast with the sharp lines of the building. I wonder if he was thinking about the relationship between the body and the built environment, how one can be both grounded and free. Looking at this sculpture makes me think about the long line of artists who have been inspired by the human form. We build on what came before, reinterpreting and reimagining it in our own way. Art is an ongoing conversation across time. Each piece is a response to what has come before, an offering to what might come next.