Paul Day (born 1967) is a British sculptor. His high-relief sculptures in

terracotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic where the fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, and architecture, terracotta ...

resin In polymer chemistry and materials science, resin is a solid or highly viscous substance of plant or synthetic origin that is typically convertible into polymers. Resins are usually mixtures of organic compounds. This article focuses on n ...

, and bronze have been exhibited widely in Europe and his work is known for its unusual approach to perspective. Major works include: * ''Brussels — An Urban Comedy'', a long terracotta frieze in the Royal Galleries of Saint-Hubert in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

* The ''Battle of Britain Monument'' on the

Victoria Embankment Victoria Embankment is part of the Thames Embankment, a road and river-walk along the north bank of the River Thames in London. It runs from the Palace of Westminster to Blackfriars Bridge in the City of London, and acts as a major thoroughfare ...

in London * '' The Meeting Place'', a tall bronze sculpture inside St Pancras railway station in London, surrounded by a frieze (see below). * ''

Iraq and Afghanistan Memorial The Iraq and Afghanistan Memorial in London commemorates British citizens, including both military personnel and civilians, who participated in the Gulf War, the Afghanistan War and the Iraq War. In these three conflicts, which took place between ...

'' (2017), in Victoria Embankment Gardens In 2008 a high-relief frieze was added to the base of ''The Meeting Place'' as part of refurbishments at St Pancras, featuring images from the history of the

Tube Tube or tubes may refer to: * ''Tube'' (2003 film), a 2003 Korean film * ''The Tube'' (TV series), a music related TV series by Channel 4 in the United Kingdom * "Tubes" (Peter Dale), performer on the Soccer AM television show * Tube (band), a ...

and train: people queuing on platforms or travelling in carriages; soldiers departing for war and returning injured, and repair works following the

7 July 2005 London bombings The 7 July 2005 London bombings, often referred to as 7/7, were a series of four coordinated suicide attacks carried out by Islamic terrorists in London that targeted commuters travelling on the city's public transport system during the mo ...

. The work was the object of controversy when first erected, as one panel depicted a commuter falling into the path of a train driven by the

Grim Reaper Death is frequently imagined as a personified force. In some mythologies, a character known as the Grim Reaper (usually depicted as a berobed skeleton wielding a scythe) causes the victim's death by coming to collect that person's soul. Other b ...

. However, following discussions with

London and Continental Railways London and Continental Railways (LCR) is a property development company owned by the Government of the United Kingdom for developing former railway land. The company was originally established in 1994 as a private consortium to own European Pa ...

(LCR), this panel was replaced with another. Day studied at art schools in the UK at

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colch ...

and

Dartington Dartington is a village in Devon, England. Its population is 876. The electoral ward of ''Dartington'' includes the surrounding area and had a population of 1,753 at the 2011 census. It is located west of the River Dart, south of Dartington ...

, and completed his training at Cheltenham in 1991. He now lives in a village near

Dijon Dijon (, , ) (dated) * it, Digione * la, Diviō or * lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920. The earlies ...

, France, with his French wife, Catherine. Their Anglo-French relationship is an explicit and repeated theme in his works. ''The Meeting Place'', which is modelled on an embrace between Paul and Catherine, stands as a metaphor for St Pancras's role as the terminus of the rail link between England and France. Another contemporary sculptor and critic, Antony Gormley, singled out ''The Meeting Place'' when he condemned the current public art works across the UK, stating: "there is an awful lot of crap out there". Day admitted that "Some will say it is a

chocolate box Chocolate box art originally referred literally to decorations on chocolate boxes. Over the years, however, the terminology has changed; it is now applied broadly as an often pejorative term to describe paintings and designs that are overly ideal ...

sculpture." In December 2017, Day received criticism for accepting a commission to create a sculpture in Moscow of the late Uzbek leader

Islam Karimov Islam Abduganiyevich Karimov ( uz, Islom Abdugʻaniyevich Karimov / Ислом Абдуғаниевич Каримов, italics=no; russian: link=no, Ислам Абдуганиевич Каримов; 30 January 1938 – 2 September 2016) was t ...

, "widely regarded as one of the most ruthless dictators in recent history", and responded, "I go with the flow".

References

External links

* * 1967 births Living people British sculptors British male sculptors {{UK-sculptor-stub