Student sculpture celebration

A major new sculpture has been unveiled on the University of East London’s (UEL) Docklands campus. The monumental Timeless Flight was designed by students from the University’s Architecture and Visual Arts courses and officially opened at the After Dark Festival on 29 February.  

The sculpture pays tribute to the UEL Phoenix, with the design the winning entry in a competition to produce a work that represents UEL’s values, ethos, past, present, and future as a careers-led university. It’s located at the road entrance to the campus, giving the area, and drivers trying to reach the University, a new landmark. 

UEL Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Amanda Broderick and the Chair of the Board of Governors, John Garwood, cut the ribbon on the structure to declare the site officially open.  

Professor Broderick said, 

We put out an open call to architecture and visual arts students to commemorate our 125-year anniversary by designing a sculpture which drew on our legacy but firmly focused on the next 125 years of our future. Our short-listed student teams entered a final challenge session with Executive Board members, and it is wonderful that the winning piece now stands proudly at our Docklands entrance. The imagination, artistic and technical execution of all finalists was incredible, and it was no easy task to select the winning team.”

Mr Garwood said, “We asked students to design a sculpture which captured our essence and identity, at speed, and both up close, and at a distance. We wanted something accessible to those on foot, and visible to those on road and rail. A piece which created a sense of arrival and offered everyone a greeting and a farewell.  

“The winning design pays tribute to our UEL phoenix and perfectly encapsulates the cyclical nature of learning and our ongoing pursuit of innovation. This institution, and everyone connected to it, face inescapable challenges, day in and day out. That’s life. What makes UEL and its people special is our ability to always rise from the ashes, grow, evolve, and keep moving forward.”

Rafael Fischer and Stephanie Stocks, two of the students from the Timeless Flight design team, were present at the opening ceremony. Mr Fischer said, “I believe I speak for our whole group when I say it’s an honour to have taken part in this competition and deeply rewarding to see our ideas come to life. Timeless Flight depicts a learning spiral, derived from the educational theory that when one is repeatedly given similar issues to solve, one can deepen their understanding of such issues and find more sophisticated solutions, eventually mastering the challenge.

“We would like to thank the faculty and staff for their dedication to excellence and commitment to the success of students just like us. We hope our contribution to this campus will act as a timeless reminder that everyone is welcome at UEL.”