Collaborating with make:good on A Curious Line
When make:good were researching potential options for installing a design onto the underpass walls, they knew they needed something robust and long-lasting that didn’t compromise on the artwork, or place restrictions on colour and detail. As with Carousel Wall – our collaboration with David David for The London Design Festival, our Artile service was just the ticket to ensure that the design was as bold and resilient as possible.
We worked closely with Amanda Wayne and Catherine Greig of make:good, who said of the importance of collaborating with manufacturers: “Working closely with the manufacturer from the outset is always important to us, and where possible we always aim to provide a link between the communities we work with and the design they have worked hard to create.
The process involved working alongside the schools’ Core Commissioning Group of students who helped shape the design brief. They began with an activity titled ‘taking a line for a walk’, experimenting with how journeys could be used as a tool for drawing and mark making. From this, three key ideas were formed; Capturing The East London Skyline, Creating A Curious Line and Collecting Pattern and Texture. These three components fed into the finished design, which is a colourful and uplifting journey through the ever-changing skyline, filled with curiosity and movement.
“The underpass was unveiled last July by the students involved as well as by artist Michael Craig Martin and they were incredibly proud and amazed to see how beautifully it translated onto the walls.”
Harry Foster, Specialist Products Business Manager of Johnson Tiles said of the project: “The finished work is a great example of community-led design being realised and is a great testament to the creativity of make:good.”
To find out more about the project, and the amazing work that make:good do, visit the website.
Photographs courtesy of make:good
Johnson Tiles is no stranger to collaboration, having worked with a number of artists and designers over the years on all manner of projects. The latest collaborative project is with make:good, a design and engagement practice “dedicated to building positive community participation in shaping local change.”
A Curious Line was commissioned by Bow Arts, and in close partnership with the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and Bow School, whose brief to help redesign the tired looking Bromley by Bow underpass crossing underneath the busy A12 in East London – leading to the site of the newly built Bow secondary school, was answered by make:good.
