I recently came across a document ‘High Street 2012’, published by tower hamlet counsel, outlining there intended regeneration of the street that runs along the end of my road. (www.highstreet2012.com/HighStreet2012.pdf)
I had to laugh when I read that one of the objectives is to ‘De-clutter the street by removing unused signage, railings ans street furniture.’ Any body having visited our area over the last nine months or so will appreciate the irony of this. Locals and drivers have lived with the systematic deconstruction of the surrounding roads and the inconvenience that this has entailed.
Although no doubt the developments in the long term will benefit the community that survives the improvement’s, I wanted to make a piece of work that will sit in amongst the visual chaos and give a tongue in cheek nod to those that have lived through the inconvenience that has ensued.
I graduated from Wimbledon in 2006 I was lucky enough to have been selected, almost immediately as eligible for a live work studio in the east end of London. The south edge of the Olympic park is around a five walk from the Acme ‘sugarhouse lane studios’. Our area has seen many changes since I moved in. Although the future of our site is in jeopardy because of the obvious developments taking place, it looks as though I am going to be fortunate enough to actually complete near enough the full five years before IKEA ,the new owners, turf us out.
http://www.acme.org.uk/residencies.php
If I’m honest, I have to admit that much of what has been happening on my doorstep has passed my bye. Obviously there was an initial excitement as the main structures began to appear, but most of the changes until now have taken place behind locked gates, only to be glimpsed at while rubbernecking from the road or train.
I am going to use this place to share some of the things that are happening around me now, and as a place to document the work I am planning to make in response to both the things that have remained and the things that are going to changes.
