Love Plates is a limited edition commemorative plates to celebrate Britain in love. People were invited to sit for portrait photographs and these images were transferred onto bone china plates designed especially for the Festival of Britain 60^th anniversary. The plates were hung to form a ‘love wall’ during the Royal Wedding celebrating and most importantly honoring the love between couples in Britain.

Love Plates is a collaboration between Flour and Karen Richmond.

Society is the tittle of the 3^rd Key Ideas Symposium at Camberwell College of Art and Design_ University of the Arts London by Fabiane Lee-Perrella. The event explored a range of critically important issues and themes relating to design, art and society.

The day included talks, discussions and a practical workshop. The aim of the day was to create an intellectual platform for students, creative practitioners and thinkers to develop an interdisciplinary conversation on the role of the art and design in and for society. Through a series of provocations the purpose of the event was to bring to the table notions on the role of the artist/designer in the creation, growth and shaping of our built environment, communities and cities, through an exploration of theoretical concepts and practical approaches.

The occasion was intended as a space for critical debate, investigation and experimentation of ideas and concepts that relate art/design and their many contexts to society – in the public ream, environmentally, as notions, as a subversive tool, as utopias, on the streets and in communities.

As designers, we are largely concerned with how to create communication, product, or experience that fulfill their intentions. However, with globalization, digitalization, and virtualization, we begun to realize the need of a bigger question, which is, how artifacts (the facts of art) defines us as humans. As designers we have influence on how humans maneuver and shape the environments and rituals through implements _homo faber; how chairs alter natural ways of congregating; to ethical concerns of how participation in the design process empowers marginalized communities.

Perhaps there is a fundamental swing slowing underway redefining how artist and designers are recognized in and by society. Validation is being widened and is beginning to embrace practices which include ways of working that until relatively recently, were maintained on the boundaries of the accreditation narratives. Within a fluid social field new creative practices are negotiating their merits through interactions, collaboration and even frictions.

“The legacy of disconnection between contemporary art and society is being challenged by a wider rediscovery of the emancipatory nature of the art process (true of art’s function in the longer story of human societies), which is collaborative, participatory and communal, not limited to, or by, lonely agency of the individual artist.”

‘It’s art… but not as we know it! By Professor Declan McGonagle in Art of Negotiation, 2007, David Butler and Vivienne Reiss. Cornerhouse Publications: Manchester

The scope of Key Ideas: Society was deliberately broad and ambitious. Our times demand nothing less. However, the day also embraces the specific areas of expertise of our panel of speakers with practical examples of ideas in situ.

Date 11th May 2011

for full programme click

Flour developed and led the process in which the members of Morrinho engaged and collaborated with a group of young people from Lambeth. This engagement and new relationship formed the basis for the creative process that conceived and produced the new installation at the Southbank Centre during Festival Brazil 2010. Through a series of workshops and collaborations run by Flour the participants developed new ideas and together created an installation for a new representation of community living inspired by their exchange. This became the basis for the outdoor work on the Southbank Centre terrace which was seen by thousands of people over the summer 2010.

Link to Films:

The Guardian

Vimeo

Link to Articles:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/aug/10/morrinho-favelas-project-southbank-lambeth

http://riotimesonline.com/brazil-news/rio-entertainment/london-favela-the-morrinho-project/

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2010/jul/23/brazil-tackling-crime-with-art

There are also films created as part of a new collaboration with a group of ten young residents of Stockwell Park Estate that has resulted in a new favela sculpture on the Royal Festival Hall terrace.

The space took its name from Brazilian street bars known as ‘Botecos’.

The boteco is an institution of Brazilian daily life. They are traditionally known as the place to be. They are intimate local bars that are open all they long where people meet, eat, drink, watch TV (mainly football and soaps), play music, gossip and watch life passing by.

They are everywhere for everyone. Romanticized by artists through music and poetry, botecos are also places of encounters amongst the Brazilian bohemians who choose their friendly atmosphere for casual conversations.
Notoriously some of the most regarded Brazilian works of art were and are conceived on the botecos napkin with the waiter’s pen.

The Raw Canvas Programme at the Tate Modern invited the BA honors in 3D Design at Camberwell College to take over the Tate Modern Turbine Hall for the entire weekend. Students created bicycle potato peelers, a 3D exquisite corpse, a make-your-own seeded brick for growing food and much more. This project was supported by Fabiane Lee-Perrela in collaboration with Patrick Laing and Tim Parsons.

Video by Robin Lee-Perrella

Flour were recently commissioned by Fundamental, an Architecture Centre based in the heart of the Olympic developments to develop and deliver an ‘obstacle course’ for ‘Discover the Greenway’. The event was part of the London 2012 Open Weekend taking place across the country and also of ‘Discovering Places’ one of the Major Projects of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad led by Heritage Link, in partnership with Natural England and CABE.

‘Running wasted’ was an art obstacle course created by Flour specifically for this event and the Greenway site. The obstacle course aimed at exciting and arousing visitor’s perceptions of the Greenway and the changing landscape of Stratford through a fresh and playful approach - connecting people with the new Olympic site.

registration desk

To begin the course participants were greeted at the running wasted registration desk, where they entered their name and contact details into our registration book. They were then given an obstacle course card listing all of the stations they had to visit, their start time logged and off they went! The aim was to get through Flour’s obstacle course as quickly as possible, completing each station’s task, marking off their card as they went.

Station 1: Public chalkboards - At the first station participants wrote on Flour’s chalkboards what they loved and hated with the Olympic site, northern outfall sewer, history of the area, local wildlife and changing landscape as food for thought and contexts of discussion. The chalkboards encouraged participants to think about the existing area and the changing landscape, it gave them a chance to write down their views and opinions and find out more about the Greenway.  It also allowed us to gather information about peoples opinions of the area and changes occurring.

Station 2: Grass dance - ‘Wasted runners’ then moved on to dance with a stranger for two minutes on Flour’s portable dance floor to a range of music from samba to Frank Sinatra to Hip-hop! This station aimed to create new connections between people, bringing different generations and cultures together through a common activity and different genres of music and styles of dancing. It was good fun as well!

Station 3: 1 of your 5 a day - We all know how important it is to ensure we are getting our 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day, at this stop participants squeezed themselves a fresh cup of orange juice. The Greenway is teaming with fruit and berries we wanted to make people think about the importance of a healthy lifestyle and sustainable living.

Station 4: Smelling stop - On a humid day we may be reminded that the outfall sewer runs below our feet when walking on the Greenway, however we wanted to highlight what lies beneath the pathway for the wider community and visitors unknown to the area. 5 bags lay on a table each with a mask to test the different smells. From a banana to marigold seeds to smelly cheese participants had to guess what each bag contained. It is only when one of our sense is taken away that we realize how valuable they are as a whole in recognizing items. We have found that with food it is important to be able to see what is in front of us as well as connecting with memories in order to establish what the item is or appreciate its taste. Some people guessed straight away and others struggled a little, but everyone had a good giggle!

Station 5: Leave a trace - Finally participants took a scenic journey down to the beautiful canal on the Greenway. Lead along a pathway marked with Flour’s distinctive and beautiful orange balloons they came across the final station in a sheltered and peaceful spot. Here they had a friend or family member draw around their figure to create a silhouette trace of themselves and their presence on the Greenway. This collaborative drawing built up layer by layer throughout the day with different personalized additions to create a unique site-specific drawing.

The final leg of the course was to the finishing desk where participant checked in. The fastest time at the end from the event will receive a box of organic fruit and vegetables. Flour’s obstacle course encouraged engagement and participation of visitors with temporary intervention points along the Greenway, building spatial, social, cultural and environmental knowledge of the area. The event also aimed at encouraging participants to question the methods and paths they choose to interact and communicate with their surroundings and one another in order to strengthen local knowledge, build new relationships between the young people involved, different generations and cultures and the local and wider community.

The commission was part of Fundamental’s programme of engagement with communities in the five host boroughs in the lead up to the 2012 Games and beyond. Volunteers from Fundamental’s youth programmes - the Architecture Crew and Legacy Now Youth Panel, were on hand to help participants complete the course.  The Greenway is a five-mile long walking and cycling route built on top of the giant Victorian Northern Outfall Sewer in East London and runs alongside the Olympic Park. From the Greenway there is an amazing view of the building of the Olympic Park.

During and since the event we have had such positive feedback, we would just like to say thank you to everyone who took part we had a great day.

Flour has just been appointed by FutureCity to produce the first embedded seating project for The Pond, Stockwell Park Estate, Brixton as part of a public art programme for a 5 year phased regeneration/re-development project within Lambeth Council for Network Housing Group.  The public art programme for Stockwell Park is aimed at building relationships with the community and developing approaches for diverse and meaningful public art.

‘Free-Piece Suite’ aims to explore relationships between the furniture and objects we treasure and the relationships and environments in which we experience precious moments with these items.  By emphasizing the relationships between the residents homes and a special communal space free-piece suite will create a cosy environment where residents of all generations can sit and have a moment of reflection, read, love, socialise, educate themselves and share stories in a green and peaceful setting.  The translation of a favourite seat or setting from the residents houses into the outdoors, the chairs and environments in which they most comfortably rest will be extended to the whole community.  By developing a hardwearing embedded artwork with the participation of the residents the project will encourage respect for the communities shared spaces and a strong sense of identity for the area.

Collaborating with artist Karen Richmond Dip and Grow Craft Lab was an evening of experimental mass participation at Origin 2008, Somerset House commissioned by the Crafts Council.  Participants were invited to take part in a dip coating test laboratory in order to transform blank objects into vibrant, colourful and bespoke hand-made pieces with their own personality.  Craft Lab was a celebration of a process both industrial and handmade and succeeded in creating an experimental ‘domestic dip coating’ laboratory bringing dip coating to the masses!

Dip coating is well known as a mass manufacturing process that is carried out in industrial units behind closed doors. The intention was to demystify the process and bring it to a hand made environment in order to question and test established ideas of what makes an object precious. Through the lab the hidden element of the craftsperson was brought to the forefront staged and transparent, visitors were able to learn and engage in a fun and enjoyable way not primarily focused on the point of sale but on playful making.

Participants experienced an immediate, contemporary and bespoke process where blank objects acquired personality.  Craft lab is a celebration of process, people and play in order to de-mystify industrial processes by turning participants into craftspeople and playful makers.

Working in partnership with Futurecity Flour is currently running the public art programme for a 5 year phased regeneration/re-development project within Lambeth Council of Stockwell Park, Brixton for Network Housing Group.

‘Village people’ is an exciting new project depicting the residents of Stockwell Park and Robsart Village, capturing genuine characters in the neighbourhood - the people of the Estates as life size temporary hoardings.  Illustrator Thomas Dowse grasped the essence of neighbourhood and its people through an artistic interpretation of the real residents that one is likely to meet when visiting the area.  Dowse’s work captures human emotion through his sensitive and honest approach by depicting current society in real environments.  The sound artist Ben Cummins gave voice to these characters bringing together colourful extracts of vivacious interviews with the residents.  The Village People project ensures that the residents recognise themselves as an integral part of a new, vibrant and positive change for the area.  The project shows Flour’s interest and ability in preserving and valuing the viewpoints of the community and stakeholders in order to create an enjoyable and imaginative environment both in the physical and digital realm through the injection of temporary art.

illustrations

Click on the image to view a large version of Thomas Dowse’s Village People illustrations.