Stathis Dimitriadis LG takes us on a tour of The London Group’s fifth sculpture exhibition in St John’s Churchyard, presented in partnership with St John’s Church and the Waterloo Festival 2025.
‘HERE’ is about everything that shapes a neighbourhood and community today—all that brings us here, together. It invites a broader understanding of belonging, place, and placemaking: residents, wanderers, and commuters; physical and digital spaces; a nostalgia for yesterday’s communities and a hope for the utopias of tomorrow.
The London Group artists have created a visual and spatial narrative of connection—where history meets modern life, and individual paths converge to create collective meaning.
Mary Branson’s ‘Silent Choir’ holds the echoes of a community—broken, re-formed, enduring. The silent mouths of the smoke-fired tiles speak without sound, yet resonate with resilience. Each crack is a note, each smudge a memory. In the heart of Waterloo, they sing a hymn to togetherness, to loss, and to the beauty of piecing things back together.
Amanda Loomes’ ‘Safe Guard’ explores the complexity of inclusion and exclusion. Who is welcome, and who is not? What is it that we fear? Her installation playfully confronts these questions, juxtaposing health and safety signage with the historic gravestones in St John’s Churchyard.
Barbara Beyer has crafted pocket-sized ceramic ‘Houses’, which now sit quietly on the churchyard wall—small, still, and contemplative—between the serene garden of St John’s on one side and the loud train rails of Waterloo Station on the other.
‘In Their Shoes’ by Paul Tecklenberg reminds us of the bustle and hustle of the urban commuters of London Waterloo Station with their phantom shoes cast in concrete and skewered with steel rebar.
Paul and Laura Carey introduce us to ‘Gardener Nurettin’, who, after working closely with nature, takes a well-earned rest on a bench overlooking the lawn—where he’s visited by an exotic butterfly. It’s a moment of quiet connection and reflection.
In the spirit of this year’s festival theme—a celebration of community and togetherness—The London Group ran two open workshops: outdoor sketching sessions led by Barbara Beyer, and clay figurine making with Stathis Dimitriadis. Both workshops were enthusiastically attended by local art clubs.
Additionally, the London Group sculptors shared their 2D sketches, photographs, and process drawings in an exhibition at the Crypt of St John’s, alongside works by local artists, groups, and collectives.
Collaboration inspired many of the sculptures, including ‘Pitch’ by Paul Bonomini, created with Santa Pedone, St John’s gardener, and her team of garden volunteers. Another example was ‘HERE’ by Clive Burton and Tisna Westerhof, a vibrant Pop Art-style sculptural installation: a rotary clothesline adorned with hanging garments embroidered with words, capturing the language of place and belonging.
This spirit of togetherness culminated in a creative collaboration with the Creative Writing Club, whose members composed new works—ekphrastic poems—inspired by the sculptures in the churchyard. Led by poet and tutor Anna Robinson, the writers joined the sculptors on the evening of the festival’s official opening to perform their poems live in the gardens. It was an emotionally resonant and uniquely moving event that added another dimension to the artworks, reminding us of how deeply layered and interconnected art can be.
Stathis Dimitriadis LG, 2025
Follow the link to watch the videos of this incredible evening: Poets respond to “HERE”
And don’t miss the chance to experience this powerful sculpture trail and hear the artists talk about their works on the 6th of September at 1pm.
HERE
St John’s Churchyard, St John’s Waterloo, 73 Waterloo Road, London, SE1 8TY
runs till Saturday 6th Sep || Open: 9am – 8pm || Free entry
Nearest tube: Waterloo
