Bronze Plaques, sites across London
Cross London commission: Bronze Plaques, Pentagram
Year
In development
Client
fereday pollard for Tideway
Artist / designer
Marina Willer, Pentagram
Service
Commission Management
Location
12 sites across London
A permanent commission for twelve sites across London
Marina Willer of design studio Pentagram has been commissioned by Tideway to create a unifying identity for a series of bronze plaques for twelve of Tideway’s sites across London.
Marina has been tasked with creating a unique artwork that expresses the transformational importance of the Thames Tideway Tunnel for London and celebrates the effort and engineering of over 20,000 people to bring about a cleaner River Thames.
In response to the brief Marina has developed a moiré interference pattern – produced by overlaying similar but slightly offset patterns – that features a central disc as the primary element. The interruptions across its surface will be emphasised by changes in the levels of bronze relief, and are strongly evocative of the movement of water and the circular form of the tunnel itself.
“The pattern is informed by the fluidity and movement of the river and the profile of the tunnel.”
Inscribed along the outer perimeter of the plaques are the words ‘THAMES TIDEWAY TUNNEL CONSTRUCTED 2016–2024’ to mark the tunnel’s construction period and the triumphant statement ‘A HIDDEN FEAT OF ENGINEERING AND THE WORK OF 20,000’.
Each plaque will measure 595 x 595 mm. The plaques will be found at Putney Embankment Foreshore, King George’s Park and Carnwath Riverside, Chelsea Quay, Heathwall Quay, Effra Quay, Tyburn Quay, Bazalgette Embankment, Chambers Wharf, Earl Pumping Station, Deptford Church Street and King Edward Memorial Park.
“We had seen the Pentagram Paper ‘Overlooked’ which uses rubbings taken of 22 London street covers which celebrate the beauty of industrial and bold utilitarian design. The rubbings are presented in neon tones, these feminine and modern colours give a different perspective to the cover’s industrial and bold designs, revealing hidden decorative patterns. We were delighted when Marina agreed to be considered for this commission.”
Marina Willer is a graphic designer and film-maker with an MA in Graphic Design from the Royal College of Art. Before joining Pentagram as a partner, she was head creative director for Wolff Olins in London. During the course of her career, Willer has led the design of major identities schemes for Amnesty International, Tate, Southbank Centre, Serpentine Galleries, Oxfam, Nesta, Second Home, Sam Labs, and the largest telecoms in Russia (Beeline) and Brazil (Oi), among many others. Willer’s first feature film, Red Trees, premiered at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival and was released worldwide by Netflix in 2018. Her films have been shown at Fondation Cartier in Paris, the ICA in London and prestigious film festivals worldwide.
During the course of her career Willer has been the recipient of a variety of industry honours and she is consistently recognised as a leading figure in UK design. Awards include best Brazilian short film at the São Paulo Film Festival, 2004, Best British Promotional Film at Promex 2000, Grand Prix for Oi at the 2002 Design Effectiveness Awards and Gold for Macmillan 2007. Her Serpentine Galleries identity was among the 2014 nominees for the Design Museum’s ‘Beazley Designs of the Year.
For more information see: www.pentagram.com/about/marina-willer
Cast by The Arch Bronze Foundry in Putney.
For more information see:
www.tideway.london