Sculptor: Alexander Stoddart
Date: 1988-90
Location: John Street
Description: This work involves three separate, though inter-linked manifestations of Mercury, the Roman mythological messenger of the gods
On a plinth cast in bronze on John street, stands Mercurial.
Two other figures sit above the John Street façade of the Italian centre; their English and Roman names, Mercury and Mercurious symbolising two different manifestations of the Roman deity. Mercury holds a wand, Mercurious a money pouch. Together, they invite a “dialogue” between ancient lore and modern city life.
Mercury, Mercurius and Mercurial form a triangle.
The use of the adjectival form of the name for the street level figure, complements the duality of the other two and brings an over-arching unity to the work.