South Bank Circle
- Artist: Richard Long CBE
- Date: 1991
- Medium: Delabole slate
- Dimensions: displayed: 100 x 1997 x 1997 mm
- Museum: Tate Modern
- Collection record: Tate Modern website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
This is the “South Bank Circle” by Richard Long CBE. The work sits on the floor, a near‑two‑metre circle made from 168 pieces of Delabole slate from Cornwall. Long’s careful instructions required every stone to touch its neighbour, locking them together into a stable, geometric form. The result is a striking contrast between the precise round shape and the uneven, natural edges of each slate block. The sculpture emerged in 1991 for a retrospective at the Hayward Gallery on London’s South Bank, which is why it carries that name. Long has long used stones from local quarries to build similar circles—think of his 1979 Slate Circle or 1990 Norfolk Flint Circle—always exploring how human order intersects with the earth’s own patterns. Standing in this space, you can feel the quiet weight of the slate and the deliberate calm of a human hand shaping the landscape.
See it in person
South Bank Circle is in the collection of Tate Modern on Bankside, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
