‘Home Forms’— YOU&ME/Croydon Council, 2016.
‘Home Forms’ is a first floor exterior permanent public artwork situated in Thornton Heath, Croydon in South London— my home town.
It was one of many pieces commissioned by architecture platform, YOU&ME on behalf of Croydon Council as part of the council’s regeneration project.
The artwork consists of lasercut, coated steel elements affixed to a white, ceramic tile backing in a wave design.
The final artwork is the end result of a larger public engagement project, which included free public art workshops that I planned and ran within the community.
Workshops included walking & drawing tours through Thornton Heath high street and papercut & collage design sessions.
Resulting artworks created by the public during the workshops were used as inspiration for the final designs.
Several local community groups were also interviewed during the research stages of the project. Design elements that act as visual references to these communities were incorporated into the final designs.
Above: workshop promotional materials.
Above: walking & drawing tour student work.
Above: papercut & collage student work.
Above: informational steel plaque.
Above: papercut & collage student work.
Above: walking & drawing tour student work.
There are several design characteristics in ‘Home Forms’ that reference local and historical points of interest. The wave-like design of the tile backing alludes to several water-related themes in the area such as the Norbury Brook, Thornton Heath Pond, and the leisure centre while also intentionally leaving visual evidence of previous signage in the brickwork dating back to 1910.
Above: papercut & collage student work.
The original concept for the artwork had been for the design elements to be digitally printed onto the tiles. However, due to issues outside of the team’s control, the artwork’s construction had to be reconceived halfway through the project.
In the final version of the work, the design elements were produced in lasercut coated steel pieces that were attached to a white ceramic tile backing.