New mosaic reflects diversity of area, says designer

A new mosaic near London Bridge, made from 250,000 small glass pieces placed by hand, celebrates the diversity of the local area, its designer says.

The 57m (187ft) artwork outside London Bridge Station has been completed.

The project started in 2020 and the mosaic, designed by Adam Nathaniel Furman, was created by students and alumni of the London School of Mosaic.

It is expected the installation, described by Mr Furman as a "swirling, wild, exciting colourful piece of art", will be seen by about 2.1 million people who go past the wall each year.

Mr Furman told BBC Radio London that the piece, titled "In a river: A thousand streams", celebrated "the contemporary diversity of the area and its history".

"It's next to the actual bridge over the River Thames and I was really inspired by the history of the site," he said.

"Different community groups that lived outside of the City that were quite diverse existed, and still to this day there's a really vibrant mix of people who live there.

"But also, because of the station, people pump in and out of the city from the south east.

"It's this amazing flow that is just like the flow of the wonderful River Thames that flows past it."

'Epic project'

Mr Furman said he was "lucky" to be chosen as the designer, and thanked Network Rail for allowing the artists to use the wall.

He said there were 70 "core" volunteers who worked on it for about three years, plus school kids, young offenders and others.

"It involved 250,000 small glass pieces that were all placed by hand, so it was quite an epic project," he said.

Mr Furman said he was also inspired by the mosaic art created for Tottenham Court Road station by Eduardo Paolozzi in the 1980s.

"I grew up going to Tottenham Court Road station a lot and it's one of the reasons I actually got into the arts in the first place," he added.