Malaysia’s Haffendi Annuar and British artist Jesse Wine were announced as joint winners of the inaugural Powerhouse Commission, in London’s famous Battersea Power Station site, which will soon become a major residential development. Supported by the Battersea Power Station and the CASS Sculpture Foundation, the shortlist for the commission also included Claire Barclay (UK); Olaf Breuning (Switzerland); Conrad Shawcross (UK); Yutaka Sone (Japan); Nina Beier (Denmark); Raphael Hefti (Switzerland) and Bedwyr Williams (UK).
The Cass Sculpture Foundation is renowned for establishing the commissioning process for the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square, the first of which was Mark Wallinger’s Ecce Homo, but has since included works by Rachel Whiteread, Marc Quinn, Antony Gormley, Yinka Shonibare, Elmgreen & Dragset, Katharina Fritsch, Hans Haacke and David Shirley.
Annuar’s “Machines for Modern Living” will comprise a series of ‘pilotis’, columns that are traditionally used in South East Asia to keep coastal homes above water, which at Battersea Power Station will act as surrogates for the power station’s famous four chimneys.