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Round Turn & Two Half Hitches - Permanent public artwork

Commissioned through DLR Art, Davis’ Langdon Park project comprises three large-scale permanent public artworks, extending London Transport's tradition of commissioning prominent public art. Davis worked for three years with the Docklands Light Railway, architects, engineers, commissioning bodies and the local community to create expansive and ambitious works that are fully integrated into the overall design of the station and its surrounds.

Davis’s research explores the spatial properties of language. In this case, how language, object and image work together, particularly in artworks existing within the public domain. Through community workshops focusing on ‘a sense of belonging’ and ‘journey’, Davis drew from the experiences of the people who use Langdon Park Station every day.

Drawing from archival material held at the Museum of London Docklands, Davis selected an image of a sailor’s knot, which reflects the history of the area. Round Turn and Two Half Hitches is composed of 300 steel discs embedded in the paving on both of the station platforms, incorporating a contemporary memorial that celebrates the local residents who campaigned for 10 years to have the station built. These individuals’ names are engraved into a number of the steel discs.

Langdon Park Station is used daily by thousands of commuters, and even more during the London 2012 Olympic Games. In 2008, Langdon Park Station was the Winner of the UK Best Regeneration Project Award at the British Construction Industry (BCI) awards and shortlisted for the Prime Minister’s Better Public Building. As a result of the Langdon Park commission, Davis was short-listed for the St John’s commission at Oxford University in 2009 and in 2010 she won (in collaboration with David Moore) the Vauxhall, Nine Elms Battersea Development public art commission.