Thomas J Price 18ft sculpture in Stratford Olympic Park

A Place Beyond, an 18ft-tall bronze figure by Thomas J Price, stands outside the new V&A East Museum on the East Bank, part of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

The artwork depicts a young person in casual clothing, gazing out while holding a mobile phone, and was developed through a combination of images, 3D scans and observations.

Gus Casely-Hayford, director of V&A East, said: "V&A East Museum is for everyone – I want you to feel that this space is for you. I’ve long admired Thomas J Price’s work as an east London based artist working on an international scale.

"His sculptures have such presence and are meticulously crafted, yet their power lies in their perceived ordinariness, and the relationships they build with their surroundings and the communities they share space with."

The V&A East Youth Collective were consulted during the process to help create an important new public artwork for east London, celebrating the diversity of the area.

Mr Price said: "Being based in east London, it means so much to have my public work, A Place Beyond, on display at V&A East Museum. I want this sculpture to become an extension of the people who inhabit the museum, and the spaces around it."

The V&A East Museum is scheduled to open on April 18, and is designed by architects O’Donnell + Tuomey.

It will feature two permanent Why We Make galleries, major temporary exhibitions, New Work creative commissions, and live events, as well as a café by Jikoni. 

The museum will also launch a new creative commissions programme called New Work, featuring contributions from Tania Bruguera, Es Devlin, Lawrence Lek, Rene Matić, Shahed Saleem, Justinien Tribillon, Carrie Mae Weems and Laura Wilson. Their work will respond to the theme Making East London and will be displayed across both V&A East Museum and Storehouse.

V&A East Museum completes the V&A East project as part of the Mayor of London’s legacy for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.