In 2020, it was announced that Hackney Council would commission two new public artworks to stand outside the London borough’s town hall, the first from Veronica Ryan was revealed in October last year and now Thomas J Price’s Warm Shores sculpture has completed the civic art project. The British sculptor is best known for his bronze casts of contemporary figures and refashioning how we perceive the idea of honouring them.

Warm Shores – our new sculpture commissioned to honour the Windrush generation in Hackney from artist Thomas J Price.#WindrushDay celebrations start NOW in front of the Town Hall! Come join in!#HackneyforWindrush pic.twitter.com/zYfBewiqRX

— Hackney Council (@hackneycouncil) June 22, 2022

Speaking to us in The HERO Winter Annual 2022, Price said: “I make work from a position as a British artist, with very particular experiences, history and understandings… Hopefully, within that overlap, there’s an enriching of the conversation, the dialogue, and an increasing kind of understanding, because you expand the perspective.” The rich history Price is honouring in his latest work is the Windrush Generation, creating a legacy for those who migrated from the Caribbean to the UK as the nation faced labour shortages in the wake of the Second World War.

At a time when monuments and public statues have become increasingly politically charged, Price turned his attention to the local community, asking 30 residents ranging from the age of 21 to 91 to be digitally photographed with a 3D scanner. An amalgamation of each image was then used to create the final artworks – two nine-foot figures of male and female. Ensuring his work is both politically relevant and honours those it represents, the figures are not there to portray one individual but the wider legacy of a generation.