The titles of these hand-woven silk artworks are lines from the book of poetry Stray Birds by Rabindranath Tagore. Tagore was a Bengali polymath - poet, playwright, philosopher –  who was the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913. His bust in Gordon Square is a short walk from Triton Square; one of many literary heroes to once live in the area inspiring one to contemplate the power of nature. 

Each artwork is a visual narrative of a verse from Tagore’s anthology, reflecting upon nature’s beauty, the journey towards knowledge and the distillation of thought. The full verse and the title for each piece follows:

1. ‘These little thoughts are the rustle of leaves; they have the whisper of joy in my mind’

2. ‘Lead me my guide, before the light fades, into the valley of quiet where life’s harvest mellows into golden wisdom’

3. ‘Clouds come floating into my life from other days, no longer to shed rain or usher storm, but to give colour to my sunset sky’

​​4. ‘Stray Birds of Summer Come to My Window to Sing and Fly Away and Yellow Leaves of Autumn Which Have No Song Flutter and Fall There With a Sigh’

The artworks tell the story of science, knowledge and human nature interwoven and interdependent. The copper motifs are inspired by networks of knowledge where one hub connects to another to build on concepts, like the long strands that cross and extend. The colours are taken from the landscape around Triton Square and the broader natural world of sunset skies, trees and seasons.

Commissioned by 1 Triton Square by British Land and Royal London Asset Management. Curated by New Public in partnership with Cockpit Studios.