Iconic site was developed initially as a commission for Cube, Centre for the Urban Built Environment, in Manchester.
The sign was created as a response to the situation of many cities, where a massive wave of new developments change the face of our urban environment, often replacing the character of the place with hollow words and meaningless sentences.
Over the last few years Manchester has been undergoing a major facelift. The city is becoming a perfect example of a city re-presented through the developers language of branding, where flats are called "living spaces", properties are sold as a "lifestyle" and the heritage is marketed as "exclusive loft spaces".
In 2008, Iconic site was brought to Liverpool by Places Matter! an Architecture and Built Environment Centre for the Northwest based in the city, in collaboration with Cube. The installation formed part of the contribution by Places Matter! to the Pool of light lighting festival designed to coincide with the Liverpool biennial and the Liverpool European Capital of Culture 2008. For this occasion, Iconic site was installed for 1 month on a shinny new office building in an area being redeveloped. Points of ellipsis were added at the end of the sign for this iteration.
Iconic site was sited in the Stephenson Quarter in Newcastle until March 2010, as an artwork commissioned by Silverlink to launch the beginning of the Stephenson Quarter and the future involvement of artists throughout this development.
In 2011, to coincide with the opening of the Turner Contemporary, Iconic Site was installed in Margate to question the future of the Fort Road Hotel, now laying derelict, one of the last building in the area that JMW Turner would have recognised if he were to visit the town today.
Cube, Centre for the Urban Built Environment
Places Matter!
