Reaching Out
Thomas J Price (b. 1981) is a British artist based in London. He studied at Chelsea College of Art and the Royal College of Art London. As an artist he has amassed a multi-disciplinary practice which includes sculpture, drawings, paintings, photography, performance and video art. He is especially known for exploring questions regarding representation, identity, historical presentation, tradition and presence in his art.
Reaching Out (2020) is a monumental and figurative bronze sculpture of a young black woman. She is dressed in relaxed, timely clothes which anchors her to our own present time. Her hair is fixed with a knot on the top of her head, and the thin strands of hair by her temple are carefully combed into sculptural whirls. In her hand she holds a smartphone which she appears to be vacantly staring into. Her body language is quiet, contemplative and closed as she stands by herself, momentarily resting in a way that spars associations of fleeting moments of disassociation that most can relate to.
She is no triumphant victor, nor any prominent figure that, through their accomplishments, have written themselves into our history. She is a fictional character standing in what appears to be a common day situation. As such the artist is challenging the concept of both monuments and sculpture whilst raising a quiet question about who and what deserves to be eternalized through sculptural monuments.
Reaching Out will be unveiled by the Mayor of Oslo during the season opening in Ekebergparken on the 5th of June 2025. The sculpture is a new, permanent addition to the sculpture park's art collection.