A trail is usually a path, track or unpaved lane or road. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, path or footpath is the preferred term for a walking trail. The term is also applied in North America to routes along rivers, and sometimes to highways. In the US, the term was historically used for a route into or through wild territory used by emigrants. In the USA "trace" is a synonym for trail, as in Natchez Trace. Some trails are single use and can be used only for walking, cycling, horse riding, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing; others, as in the case of a bridleway in the UK, are multi-use, and can be used by walkers, cyclists and equestrians. There are also unpaved trails used by dirt bikes and other off-road vehicles, and in some places, like the Alps, trails are used for moving cattle and other livestock.
The Isle of Dogs is a large peninsula bounded on three sides by a large meander in the River Thames in East London, England, which includes the Cubitt Town, Millwall and Canary Wharf districts. The area was historically part of the Manor, Hamlet, Parish and, for a time, the wider borough of Poplar. The name had no official status until the 1987 creation of the Isle of Dogs Neighbourhood by Tower Hamlets London Borough Council. It has been known locally as simply "the Island" since the 19th century.
The River Tyne is a river in North East England. Its length is 73 miles (118 km). It is formed by the North Tyne and the South Tyne, which converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Waters'.
The Young British Artists, or YBAs—also referred to as Brit artists and Britart—is a loose group of visual artists who first began to exhibit together in London in 1988. Many of the YBA artists graduated from the BA Fine Art course at Goldsmiths, in the late 1980s, whereas some from the group had trained at Royal College of Art.
Gilbert Prousch, sometimes referred to as Gilbert Proesch, and George Passmore, are two artists who work together as the collaborative art duo Gilbert & George. They are known for their distinctive and highly formal appearance and manner in performance art, and also for their brightly coloured graphic-style photo-based artworks. In 2017, the artists celebrated their 50th anniversary.
Gary Stewart Hume is an English artist. Hume's work is strongly identified with the YBA who came to prominence in the early 1990s. Hume lives and works in London and Accord, New York.
The Greenwich Peninsula is an area of Greenwich in south-east London, England. It is bounded on three sides by a loop of the Thames, between the Isle of Dogs to the west and Silvertown to the east. To the south is the rest of Greenwich, to the south-east is Charlton.
Solomon "Sol" LeWitt was an American artist linked to various movements, including conceptual art and minimalism.
Jeremy Michael "Jay" Jopling is an English art dealer and gallerist. He is the founder of White Cube.
Conrad Hartley Pelham Shawcross is a British artist specializing in mechanical sculptures based on philosophical and scientific ideas. Shawcross is the youngest living member of the Royal Academy of Arts.
White Cube is a contemporary art gallery owned by Jay Jopling with two branches in London: Mason's Yard in central London and Bermondsey in South East London and one in Central, Hong Kong Island. The gallery also has office locations and viewing rooms at 10 avenue Matignon in Paris and 699 Madison Avenue in New York's Upper East Side. The Hoxton Square space in the East End of London was closed at the end of 2012 and the São Paulo gallery in 2015.
The Quantum Cloud is a contemporary sculpture, designed by Antony Gormley, located next to The O2 in London. The sculpture was commissioned for the site and was completed in 1999.
Sarah Kent is a British art critic, formerly art editor of the weekly London 'what's on' guide Time Out. She was an early supporter of the Young British Artists in general, and Tracey Emin in particular, helping her to get exposure. This has led to polarised reactions of praise and opposition for Kent. She adopts a feminist stance and has stated her position to be that of "a spokesperson, especially for women artists, in a country that is essentially hostile to contemporary art."
For the Love of God is a sculpture by artist Damien Hirst produced in 2007. It consists of a platinum cast of an 18th-century human skull encrusted with 8,601 flawless diamonds, including a pear-shaped pink diamond located in the forehead that is known as the Skull Star Diamond. The skull's teeth are original, and were purchased by Hirst in London. The artwork is a memento mori, or reminder of the mortality of the viewer.
Jon Thomson and Alison Craighead are London-based visual artists, who work with video, sound and the internet.
Rachel Kneebone is an English artist who lives and works in London.
A Slice of Reality is a work of modern art by Richard Wilson sitting by the Millennium Dome on the north-western bank of the Greenwich Peninsula. It consists of a 9-metre (30 ft) sliced vertical section through the former 800-ton 60-metre (200 ft) sand dredger Arco Trent and exposes portions of the former living quarters of the vessel to the elements.
The Line is a public art trail in London's East End, opened in 2015, that very roughly follows the path of the Greenwich meridian as it crosses the River Thames. It consists of a set of artworks positioned on a 7.7-kilometre (4.8 mi) walking route starting at the London Stadium, passing down the Lea Valley, crossing the Thames via the London Cable Car, and ending at The O2 in Greenwich. The trail includes works by Anthony Gormley and Tracey Emin.
Here is a 2013 artwork created by artist duo Thomson & Craighead. The work, a standard UK road sign pointing northwards, is situated on a riverside path on the west side of the Greenwich Peninsula in south-east London, where it forms part of The Line, a public sculpture trail that very roughly follows the path of the Prime Meridian as it crosses the River Thames.
