Gradiva Project

William Cobbing installs two manhole covers with embossed bas-reliefs on the forecourt of Camden Arts Centre. The bas-reliefs derive from surrealist images by André Masson of Gradiva and Acéphale. They create an incongruous addition to the manhole covers whilst drawing attention to the hidden underworld of drains below ground level.

These are part of Cobbing's concurrent solo exhibition Gradiva Project at the nearby Freud Museum, which draws on the story of the Gradiva bas-relief that was of so much interest to Freud.