THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
Strolling down the mighty, winding river that divides London between north and south just got more glorious with the installation on July 11 of Globe View, a public art project funded by the City of London's Community Infrastructure Levy Neighbourhood Fund.
The project was designed by East London-based Community Interest Company ARTBASH, an organization that specializes in art and the improvement of mental health. Globe View has been in the works since September of 2023. It features the installation of six resplendently vivid steel panels fixed at eye level and populated by images reflecting the man-made and natural history of the river in all its storied majesty, from the architecture of Sir Christopher Wren to the surprisingly diverse ecosystem that includes, among other things, porpoises, swans, salmon and seahorses.
The teeming body of water's history is depicted both visually and verbally. Alongside each panel is a poetic verse on an accompanying steel panel, printed in Doves Type font, itself a style of lettering closely associated with the history of the area. The poem is called 'Thames Made Modern', composed by ARTBASH co-director Paula Hughes, inspired by and in collaboration with workshops ARTBASH conducted with the Parish Congregation of nearby St. James Garlickhythe, out of which came the eponymous phrase and on which Hughes has built a stage by stage narrative for passersby to follow.
"This whole area is innovation," Hughes said at the unveiling on July 11. "It is the pinnacle of change and progress and we felt that 'Thames Made Modern' was the perfect phrase for it!"
The art panels showcase a montage effect lacquering together rich hues of colors such as, as the poetic verses indicate, 'blues, greens, aquamarines and a dome of Portland Pink,' among others. ARTBASH's founder, Hackney-based artist Linda Culverwell, developed them with images generated through workshops she conducted with year 9s at The Haggerston School and year 6s at The Aldgate School.
ARTBASH was established in 2010 by Culverwell to offer afterschool workshops to young children in the local area. The organization has since expanded to work with teen and adult groups to conduct workshops and special projects with the aim of achieving a better state of mental health; and to support and develop public art projects such as Globe View.
Rivington Street Studio architects designed the new layout of this previously closed and derelict section of the Thames between the Millennium and Southwark Bridges. It is part of a project to develop the last of the closed section of the Thames Path and allow the public unfettered and pleasant walking access to all of the riverside.
So close has been the ARTBASH team's attention to detail on these panels that they actually worked with the foremost expert on Doves Type Face, Robert Green, a graphic designer who has done painstaking digital and physical excavation and the only individual licensed to reproduce the elegant lettering style digitally in Britain. The font itself has its own turbulent history including its designer, TJ Cobden-Sanderson throwing his metal type and molds into the river off of Hammersmith Bridge after a disagreement with his business partner, literally sinking any chance to use the font for over 100 years.
The ARTBASH team, in the meantime, continue to run projects and hope to continue to beautify London with more sweeping and ambitious endeavors like Globe View for visitors and residents of London alike.
City Alderman Brian Mooney commented at the unveiling of the panels on the gravity of the moment. 'This is the final link in the Thames Walkway through the city of London and we took many, many years to negotiate and to organise the rebuilding of it. The key thing now is that you can walk all the way through the city along the Thames so this is a very special day, a very special moment.'