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City Dreaming, Vauxhall Cross, London, April/May 2000

Commissioned by: London Printworks Trust on behalf of London Borough of Lambeth and Vauxhall Cross Transport Solutions.

Project Brief / Context : To create temporary artworks in the Vauxhall Cross area in order to draw peoples' attention to proposed environmental changes,as well as to create a dialogue which might lead to exciting opportunities and solutions in the future.


Project Description

Two traffic-free lanes on the south-side of Vauxhall Bridge were painted by road contractors with images linked to the changing environment and the futuristic pod-shaped transport interchange planned for the area. The ordnance survey symbols for marshland allude to the original swampy land that existed beneath the tarmac, prior to its reclamation from the once wider and marshy riverbank of the Thames nearby.
An LED Display Unit was installed in a pedestrian tunnel beside a train station. The scrolling text asked the passing public ten questions relating to their dreams i.e. 'What did you dream last night?', 'Are your dreams affecting your day?', 'Do you remember your dreams?'. The experience of passing through the actual tunnel was itself transformed by installing coloured gel into the existing lighting system - initially pink, it became blue half-way through the month long project.