The Hop Sculpture, Hayward Gallery Installation

The Hop was conceived by Jyll as a vibrant, interactive outdoor installation that initially took occupation of the Gallery’s terrace for four months over the summer of 2022, continuing its programme of large-scale public installations that offer free access to art for all. Following its early success, Expedition worked to justify its capacity to extend the duration of installation to a year.

The 4m-high sculpture was constructed out of 33 individual ‘Umbrellas’ of metal, wood, and coloured perspex. These umbrellas, which mimic the structures hop plants are trained to grow up, created mesmerising patterns of coloured light and shade that projected a spectrum of colours onto the Southbank Centre’s Brutalist architecture.

Our team helped scale up Jyll’s prototype of a single umbrella, created in collaboration with Ben Godber, to create a pavilion that extended across 250m2. Given its location and accessibility to the public, the sculpture had to be safe for visitors to walk beneath and capable of withstanding environmental loading such as wind, all whilst safeguarding the artistic intent.

Jyll wanted the sculpture to appear as though it floated above the ground, whereby an adjustable base detail was necessary to allow all the umbrella bases to be elevated to the same height on the uneven tiled surface of the terrace. We sought out simple, low-cost connection details that were suitable for the sculpture’s unconventional geometry.

We also had to ensure the installation’s light and distinctive form was retained when multiple units were brought together, and that the necessary structural bracing and connections did not undermine the visual impact of the sculpture as a whole; as Jyll’s vision was as much about the colours, light, and shadows cast on its surroundings as the sculpture itself, it was crucial we did not interrupt that.

Another key consideration was how the structure would connect to the Gallery. As a listed building, we had to ensure the sculpture could be dismantled without leaving a trace, meaning our contribution had to be as close to invisible as possible, draw inspiration from the artist’s palette of materials, and minimise cost and complexity.