ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

Roger Hiorns Discusses Public Sculpture, Buried Jets, and the Future of Art in 2016 Interview

publication · 2026-04-20

Roger Hiorns's exhibition at Corvi-Mora in London will be available until 28 July, which has led ArtReview to revisit a 2016 conversation with the artist. In this interview, Hiorns elaborates on The Retrospective View of the Pathway, a public sculpture in Bristol that features two granite furnaces, each standing seven meters tall with vulva-like openings, commissioned by Art and the Public Realm Bristol. This project emerged from a complex backdrop involving a developer, PricewaterhouseCoopers, an insurance firm, and architect Stephen Witherford. Hiorns views the piece as a social commentary and critiques the economic priorities of the contemporary art scene. He also references Seizure (2008), an ongoing initiative to bury a Boeing 737 for Ikon in Birmingham, along with a performance planned at Birmingham Cathedral during Evensong.

Key facts

  • Roger Hiorns's exhibition is on show at London's Corvi-Mora through 28 July.
  • ArtReview revisits a 2016 interview with Hiorns from its Summer 2016 issue.
  • Hiorns completed The Retrospective View of the Pathway, a public sculpture in Bristol commissioned by Art and the Public Realm Bristol.
  • The sculpture includes two seven-meter-tall granite furnaces with vulva openings on Bristol's floating harbour.
  • The project involved a developer in receivership, PricewaterhouseCoopers, an insurance company, and architect Stephen Witherford.
  • Hiorns is working on burying a Boeing 737 for Ikon in Birmingham as part of a global network of buried planes.
  • He planned a performance for Birmingham Cathedral involving choristers scattered during Evensong.
  • Hiorns contributed to the Hayward Gallery's History Is Now exhibition with a section on variant Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease (CJD).

Entities

Artists

  • Roger Hiorns
  • J.J. Charlesworth
  • Richard Long

Institutions

  • ArtReview
  • Corvi-Mora
  • Art and the Public Realm Bristol
  • PricewaterhouseCoopers
  • Bristol City Council
  • Ikon
  • Birmingham Cathedral
  • Hayward Gallery

Locations

  • London
  • United Kingdom
  • Bristol
  • Birmingham

Sources