The Burlington Sculpture Park, an arts project of the Town of Burlington, Massachusetts

Phil Marshall with Next Stop Shibuya

Next Stop Shibuya

(This work was uninstalled on June 2, 2022. A new work will be installed on that spot soon, but we will maintain this page and all our previous works in an archive library.)

This is a work by Philip Marshall.

It is a welded steel sculpture, 108 inches in height.

The work was installed on July 31 of 2020, and will show in Burlington for at least two years.

Phil’s Artist statement:

I was intrigued by the way two flat rectangles of steel could so easily be cut and then joined to create a form with no straight lines. I know I am subconsciously influenced by Japanese forms having spent some time in the country. The resulting shape of these steel elements reminds me of images I have seen there.

Although executed as an abstract sculpture, now completed, it reminds me of my rush hour experiences on the Tokyo Metro and commuter trains. Being crushed together, often face-to-face with total strangers, too squeezed together to even breathe properly, requires a mental preservation of personal space that is not possible physically.

The outward curve of these two elements suggests to me the mental separation despite physical proximity that Tokyo, like almost all large cities, requires if one is to maintain one’s own individuality. Having been compressed into a railway car at Shinjuku, and being pushed further in at each stop, hearing “The next stop is Shibuya”, my destination, was a welcome announcement.

You can visit Phil Marshall’s website and see more and learn about his work in sculpture and beyond.

Here is a 5 minute video of sculptor Philip Marshall assembling and installing his work Next Stop Shibuya in Burlington on July 31, 2020.

Here is a 12 minute video of sculptor Philip Marshall in his studio talking about his work and about Next Stop Shibuya.