Response By
Jim Yanchula
Robert Fones Duffield Block, 1997
oil on canvas Gift of the Artist, 2019Response
Duffield Block and the Duffield Block both represent London as Art and Artefact, speaking to memory and substance. A passage by Italo Calvino reminds me: “The city, however, does not tell its past, but contains it like the lines of a hand, written in the corners of the streets, the grating of the windows, the bannisters of the steps, the antennae of the lightning rods, the poles of the flags, every segment marked in turn with scratches, indentations, scrolls.”
Jim Yanchula is the Manager of Downtown Projects and Business Relations with the City of London. He has worked in various urban planning and design capacities for the City for over a decade. Most recently, Jim oversaw the major community revitalization project, Dundas Place–a two-year, $16-million transformation of Dundas Street.