Futurecity welcomed a work experience student from Chiselhurst & Sidcup Grammar School for one week this July. Honor attended meetings, helped out with social media research and joined us for a London office trip to Cambridge for the launch of Jennifer Tee’s artwork at the Marque. Featured here is a blog post she wrote about her experience:
“As part of my week of work experience with Futurecity from Chiselhurst and Sidcup Grammar School I had the opportunity to accompany members of the company to view completed artworks in Cambridge. Not having been to the city for over a year, I was very excited to return with a purpose other than sightseeing. Upon arrival we all stocked up on food, which I was very happy about, in a small café right by the station. Everyone arrived in trickles and assembled until there were around fifteen of us ready to explore Cambridge. It was good to see the number of staff that came from Futurecity to support the completed projects in the area, and that they were keen to see the results of their, the fabricators’, curators’ and artists’ efforts.
Cambridge is a city of cyclists and most of the population, from what I viewed, ride bicycles. It seemed obvious therefore that we would spend the day cycling to various destinations. I hadn’t ridden a bike in around 10 years and it really did show. I wobbled about for around 2 hours and, despite coming out relatively unscathed, I don’t see myself becoming a pro cyclist anytime soon. It was lovely however to view Cambridge by bike, being taken on a scenic tour to our destinations by Susie Olczak who project-managed some projects we were to view later in the day.
Our first stop-off point was a project in a housing development, which Futurecity developed with artist James Hopkins. There was seating resembling an amphitheatre in the grass area, all leading towards two benches reflected in a curved metal sculpture. From a distance everything looked normal but as you went closer our reflections became very contorted, and hilariously so. We all got the giggles as we viewed our stick thin legs, stretched faces and tiny hands. I’m sure if I lived in this housing development I would go and sit there frequently.
Then we cycled to see Peter Newman’s ‘Sky Station’; and did what any normal group of people would do: lie on it! The sculpture slightly resembled a UFO, with a circular base, and dip in the centre, to allow for confortable seating. It is both sculptural and interactive; using contours intended to fit the reclining human figure. This artwork was by a playground surrounded by housing apartments, providing a strong contrast between the housing and abstract playful art. The sculpture was very warm and lying on it watching the clouds made me feel very sleepy indeed.
The highlight of the day for me was viewing Jennifer Tee’s artwork in The Marque building by Hills Road and Cherry Hinton Road. Jennifer was selected from a panel of judges from Kettle’s Yard and worked with students from Hills Road Sixth Form College to produce the work we were visiting. I was surprised how subtle her artwork was but to what degree it enhanced the Marque development. The work is called ‘Living Room Screens’ and consists of metal screens attached to one wall and the floor of the top half of the development, and painted with images inspired by the Herbarium at the Cambridge University Botanical Garden. Both Jennifer and a member of the Futurecity team, Andy Robinson, talked about the project to the people who came to the opening. It was very intriguing to learn about the development of thought from conception to production. She decided to use ceramic tiles because of their durability and because she has worked with that medium in the past; the thought process appeared very complex indeed.
I think this piece of art will enhance the life of those living in the Marque and I look forward to seeing many more public art projects like this in Cambridge. I really enjoyed my time there, I loved seeing the end result of the projects as well as the process of getting the artwork there, as it gave me a good perspective of what life is like working at Futurecity.”
-Honor Luxmoore