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Riverside community helps capture ‘energy’ of the Thames in exciting new artwork

A riverside community joined forces with one of the UK’s biggest infrastructure projects to capture the ‘energy’ of the River Thames in an exciting new piece of artwork.

Published on
September 14, 2015

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A riverside community joined forces with one of the UK’s biggest infrastructure projects to capture the ‘energy’ of the River Thames in an exciting new piece of artwork.

Residents in and around Nine Elms on the South Bank took part in the photographic piece by UK artist, Tim Davies, which is being displayed on hoarding around the Thames Tideway Tunnel site at Kirtling Street.

Following a photoshoot along the foreshore, which also included Tideway staff, the finished 120-metre-long artwork, ‘Figures on the Foreshore’, explores and celebrates the proximity of the river; aiming to evoke childhood memories and playfulness.

Phil Stride, External Affairs Director at Tideway, said: “Tim’s artwork creates a sense of fun and excitement, which is exactly what we want everyone to feel about the River Thames.

“When people see the hoarding they won’t just see a building site, they will be reminded that the Thames is something to celebrate and that is what our project is aiming to achieve.”

Tim Davies said: “In ‘Figures on the Foreshore’ I wanted to capture the seemingly often overlooked potential of the Thames. I wanted to capture a sense of energy and a sense of fun and a sense of the lyrical. We had a great couple of days on the photographic shoot when members of the local community came and joined in generously.

“What you see on the hoarding is a selection of the images captures from that time. I’d like to thank both those who appear and those who participate but do not feature in the final work. Everyone involved made it an extraordinary memorable experience.”

Ravi Govindia, leader of Wandsworth Council, said: “This is a superb piece of photography and will brighten up Kirtling Street. Once this important project is complete it will open up a new section of Thames Riverside Path and create another extremely valuable pedestrian link connecting William Henry Walk and the Riverlight development.”

Davies’ work comprises a series of performative gestures and actions, conveying a sense of movement, and is informed by the work of Eadweard Muybridge who captured motion in stop-motion photographs.

The hoarding, which will wrap around the project site for at least a year, will be up from next week.

As part of Totally Thames festival, Davies will lead a free walk and talk along the foreshore on 19 September, starting outside at Camelford House, 87-90 Albert Embankment, at 11.30am (booking not required).

ENDS


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