Artist chairs public art debate
Bespoke street furniture designed by an internationally renowned artist is the latest public art offering in the Olympic fringe area, it was revealed today.
The art works commissioned by the London Thames Gateway Development Corporation (LTGDC) to deal with poor connections and access to Hackney Wick – an area which sits next to the Olympic Stadium – provide local community benefits but have stimulated a lively debate over the role that public art should play in delivering a legacy for east London.
Called ‘Bench to Bench’, Martino Gamper has created bespoke pieces of street furniture constructed from recycled materials. The scattering of benches and stools form a trail from Victoria Park to the Olympic Park leading people along a route which is currently difficult to navigate.
Contrasting his work with Anish Kapoor’s colossal ArcelorMittal Orbit towering over the Olympic Park – Britain’s biggest and most expensive piece of public art – Martino Gamper said:
“The difference between the Orbit and my commission is the fact that the Orbit wants to be big, bold and overpowering. I’m much more interested in the subtle change of an area and taking into consideration its strong history. I would like to see the long term effect of the Orbit but I’m not sure what that will be,”
Artists have been commissioned by LTGDC to address issues of poor connectivity and barriers to movement within Hackney Wick. Public art will be used to create clear routes with safe access for pedestrians and cyclist to local destinations such as Hackney Wick Station, The Greenway, Victoria Park and the Olympic Park.
Gamper continued;
“The obvious local benefit of this commission is the change of the street and its use. Wallis Road didn’t have any place for residents and visitors to sit, rest and meet along the local streets.
‘Fundamentally it will also make people engage differently with their neighbourhood. The benefit is long term, since the area will change even more than it has in the last year, these benches will grow alongside the community into a new urban texture of Hackney Wick. It will act as a landmark and path between the Olympic Park and Victoria Park.”
LTGDC recognises the benefits that public art can bring to the social, economic and general being of an area. Hackney Wick is poorly connected and isolated by the barriers of transport infrastructure (A12) and the railway and canal network. The art commissions sit within a wider project whereby just under £3m is being invested to ‘stitch’ the neighbourhood to the Olympic Park and surrounding communities.
LTGDC’s chief executive Peter Andrews said:
“Hackney Wick and Fish Island has become an incubator for the creative sector and has already brought added character and desirability to the area. Gamper’s benches will build on and enhance this environment and crucially address the issue of poor connectivity between neighbourhoods.”
The wider improvements have included neglected alleyways and paths widened and resurfaced underpasses and pedestrian bridges improved with new lighting and CCTV, a new road crossing and public space created, and more way-finding signs.
LTGDC’s vision for Hackney and Fish Island is a community offering a unique place to live and work with improved transport access and superior open space. With a blend of new workspaces, housing, studios, galleries, cafes and shops tomorrow’s Hackney Wick will be a high energy, diverse and well connected district.
The Hackney Wick public realm project has been shortlisted for Best New Public Space in the London Planning Awards 2011/12, the winner to be announced in January 2012.
