The elephant project

 

Few weeks ago, i had my first group meeting to start the brainstorming about the elephant and castle project. I had and i still have few ideas in mind. 

 At the time, the idea i presented was about small old workshops around the area. Ideally, workshops which have been existing for long, long time.

This concept came across a bit confused during the tutorial.

The following weekend I went around Elephant looking for my hidden treasures. I think it was the very first time i gave a good look at the shopping centre, haygate, alysbury estates and surrounding. 

The more the night fell down and the more i started doubting about the regeneration and its success and completion. Further more I personally have a sinister taste of ‘ ugly places’ : I simply love them.

The regeneration plans are extremely ambitious. Elephant and Castle will be again the piccadilly of the south, a place of visual pleasure of shoppers and for cool people. I do admit that it would be nice to use a magic wand and recreate the elephant, cleaning it from its dreadful reputation of rough area and not safe environment. But i do not think a lift would change the nature of the place unless elephant will go through a detox regime of cleanse: push the unwanted factors out of the way, limiting the house relocation, for example , to just a few well selected individuals. And what about all the others? where are they going to be relocated? are the regeneration team really thinking about it or are they playing in a way that

people are force to leave?

 

 

By the end of the evening, I started thinking that what an all around facelift would change for sure are colors. Do you reckon that the NEW ELEPHANT colour pallette will include the Scavolini Pink used for the Shopping Centre few decates ago?

I presume that it will definately different considering  what colors are adopted by the new architectonical designs elsewhere. it will be a sort of greeny glassy color, i can guess.

 

Sooo, my second idea soon popped up THE COLOURS OF ELEPHANT.

 

 

 

how do i relate colours with the breifing WORK? that is the next step.

as a visual brainstorming I started with taking pictures of places which can be related to working areas such as the shopping centre,streets,  estate buildings…everywhere.

 

 

 

 

What i have in mind is a body of work which would be conceptual, abstract and give the sense of place without necessarelly seeing the place. Colours can talk by themselves. It would be nice if I could achieve something that it would look like a painting.

A couple of weeks ago, I was on the train from Southend and I got extremelly happy to notice a smashed window. i think that the other passengers thought i was a bit loony. I sat there, near MY WINDOW and i started…click…click… I knew that something interesting could come out out of somebody action (smashing the window).

how can i achieve such a thing? shall i smash window by night and i take pictures by day? this could be a practicle solution. I do not know how long it will last for, though.

Ahhh, here…. what about blurred pictures? OUTOFOCUSSSSS.

MMMM, I am aware of the troubles within this idea. But , let’s try, shall we?