Lansbury Estate
A collaboratively-produced sound piece, created with residents of the Lansbury Estate and traders from Chrisp Street Market. This project was in conjunction with the V&A Museum. It forms part of Walls On Walls series of collaborative audio-visual installations across London. Key locals who helped design and paint the wall, and record, edit and compose the sound piece include: Christopher, Bo, Natalia, Natasha, Sheena, Charlotte, Daisy, Camille, Tim, Lorraine, Shahid, Gary, Olivia and last but by no means least, Evelyn, our next door neighbour (Evelyn's Cards) who even got her own personalised sign as part of the art work. The work reflects historic, current and future forms of architectural and social space that centre around the market and Lansbury Estate.
It starts in 1951 – the year the estate was built as part of the Festival of Britain. Both audio and visual works take us from this departure point, through the present, to visions of the future. The piece alludes to the industrial history and forward-thinking architecture of the area, the presence of various cultural identities through time, the currently changing make-up of the market and its survival as the future looms large.
The clock tower, designed by Lansbury architect Fredrick Gibbard, forms an iconic centrepiece to the work. We consider Gibbard’s initial visions for the area as we climb the steps, sketching current sight lines and talking about possible futures. From there we encounter listed houses (designed as part of the festival) and the soon-to-be regenerated covered market. Both form a central part of daily life for this diverse community. Festival of Britain mural artist Peggy Angus is acknowledged visually, with snippets of an ode to her wall art at the local Lansbury Lawrence school. Reflections are made of the iconic Balfont tower – a modernist neighbour that residents expressed an interest in reviving in future designs of their estate. The old pub sign of The Festival Inn makes an appearance both visually and sonically, acknowledging the historic fabric of the estate and details in the design.
The future begins to appear – new buildings, changing trade for the area - questioning if this can maintain the detailed sense of community and identity that the estate, the community and its memories currently represent.
A collaboratively-produced audio-visual artwork, created with residents of the Lansbury Estate and traders from Chrisp Street Market. This project was produced in conjunction with the V&A Museum and City, University of London.
