Ribbons of silver bearing hope-filled verse by poet Greta Bellamacina are the essence of a new art installation, named ‘Silver Lining’, with which Sofitel is brightening up London’s St James’s locale from today. The collaboration between Bellamacina and critically acclaimed artists Ania Catherine and Dejha Ti aims to inject some playful optimism into a city which feels a little deflated right now.
To enjoy Silver Lining to the max, consider it as a walking route that highlights the very best treasures found within St James’s – from Waterloo Place to Princes Arcade on Jermyn Street via St James’s Market and The Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain (commonly known as Eros) in Piccadilly Circus.
Upon de-installation of the work on 19th October, the artists will repurpose all the silver lining and use it as source material for a limited series of abstract works on canvas.
“With ‘Silver Lining’, Sofitel wishes to add a touch of playful Joie de vivre and sparkle to London, a city that hosts all three of our UK hotels,” explains João Rocco, Vice President Sofitel Brand. “2020 has been a challenging year for us all and through this moving and hope-filled commission, imagined through the first-ever collaborative work of Ania Catherine, Dejha Ti and Greta Bellamacina, we look forward to inspiring locals and visitors to discover their own Silver Lining as they re-explore the treasures of this world-renowned city and neighbourhood.”
The full text of Bellamacina’s poem can be seen below.
GRETA BELLAMANCINA’S ‘SILVER LINING’ POEM
Behind the day, the stars chime in candles
Eighty years of a thousand mornings buried in impossible monuments
Something as simple as a smile from a stranger
The rebirth of magic is in everyone
The rain cleans the ticks of the wild wind
That gets in from time to time
Hold up the puddles like magic
And I will swim across for you
Your love is a kingdom of escape
Rebuilding everything sacred
A passage of hope
Two colours holding a sunrise
The morning leaving the night
We live in the cities but our dreams are wild goats on the side of mountain
Faraway from here there is a bonfire blowing out towards the sea, holding an impossible kind of love that holds us throughout our lives
We sit on the steps of renamed stones
Owning nothing but ideas of new civilisations we will never reach.
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