Public Art in London: Please Take a Seat

A new addition to The Line in East London

A walk along The Line, a public sculpture trail in East London, is a great way to spend a day. One of the newest additions is ‘Please Take a Seat’ – a contemporary reinterpretation of a Victorian park bench. It’s been developed by Mahtab Hussain in collaboration with The Line’s Youth Collective as an exploration of representation, identity, and place. The engraved prompt ‘Hello, let’s make a portrait together’ invites you to sit, reflect and use the bench as a prop to create your own portrait and share online. We spoke to Mahtab to find out all about his latest piece.

Mahtab sat upon ‘Please take a Seat’. Photo: Laura Hodgson.

How did the concept for this sculpture/bench come about and how does it tie into your wider practice?

The concept for Please Take a Seat grew from a deep reflection on public space and the importance of human connection within it. During lockdown, I found myself drawn to benches - ordinary objects that suddenly held extraordinary significance. They became symbols of freedom, intimacy, and reflection. This idea resonated with my wider practice, which often explores identity, heritage, and displacement.

In this work, I wanted to shift from a purely individual focus to a collective one, using the bench as a sculptural object that invites public participation. It functions both as a seat and a site for conversation, memory, and belonging, making it a natural extension of my interest in how people and places shape each other. As the commission was to be located in a park, it made perfect sense to celebrate the idea of the bench.

Beneath the paywall:

• What are some of the motifs on the bench?

• How are we supposed to interact with it?

• Mahtab’s favourite parts of London