Hasta La Ideas

This London building appears to have been turned on its head, but it’s actually an installation created by Hackney artist Alex Chinneck.

Alex Chinneck, whose previous projects include a house with a slumped down facade and a melting brick wall, constructed a new facade for a former livery stables in Southwark to make the building look like it has been turned upside down.

Entitled Miner on the Moon, the project takes over a structure that was first built in the 1780s as a storage facility for horses and carriages, but until recently had been left as an empty shell with a colourless facade and boarded-up windows.

“I was interested by how the architectural silhouette of the building had been created with this function in mind and I wanted to conceive a concept that responded to this shape and the building’s history,” said Chinneck.

The artist followed the proportions of the existing facade for the design of the new elevation, creating a shopfront, doors and windows that are all the wrong way round.

A fake materials palette of brickwork and white plaster is provided by brick slips – a kind of flattened brick – and rendered polystyrene. Chinneck also added an enamel sign from a company founded nearby in 1876.

“After being dissolved in 1986, I found their enamel signage earlier this year in a reclamation yard in Wales and this sign initiated and informed the mood of the work,” he said.

Like many of his public art projects, Chinneck says his intention with the piece was to create a spectacle that somehow manages to fit in with its surroundings.

“I’m conscious that when a person walks through the doors of an art gallery they do so through choice, but people do not make that choice when presented with public sculpture,” he said.

“I wanted to create an artwork therefore that offered spectacle but was simultaneously subtle and by using the material and architectural language of the district the artwork has the ability to disappear into its environment without dominating it.”

The artist relied on donations to source the materials needed to build the structure, and installed it with help from a team of volunteers.

Photography is by Stephen O’Flaherty and Alex Chinneck.

Here’s a statement from Alex Chinneck:

Miner on the Moon

The work is titled ‘Miner on the moon’. It is located just south of Blackfriars Bridge at 20 Blackfriars Road SE1 8NY and was produced as the finale to Merge Festival 2013.

Built in 1780, the site was originally used as livery stables housing horses and carriages for hire. The access through the site (the underpass to the bottom right of the building) was used to ferry live cattle from the rear yard to the Thames for trade. I was interested by how the architectural silhouette of the building had been created with this function in mind and I wanted to conceive a concept that responded to this shape and the buildings history.

The material and aesthetic decisions within the project celebrate the architectural heritage of Southwark and the timeless charm of its fatigued buildings. By presenting a very familiar architectural scenery and narrative in an inverted way, the audience hopefully re-appreciates the buildings and moments of our daily environments that we allow to slip into our subconscious.

The sign (W. H. Willcox & Co Ltd) is a company founded in 1876 on Southwark Street a few minutes walk from the site. After being dissolved in 1986, I found their enamel signage earlier this year in a reclamation yard in Wales and this sign initiated and informed the mood of the work.

As an artist, this very busy junction is of course prime real estate for public sculpture given the volume of traffic and potential audience. Having said that, I’m conscious that when a person walks through the doors of an art gallery they do so through choice but people do not make that choice when presented with public sculpture. I wanted to create an artwork therefore that offered spectacle but was simultaneously subtle and by using the material and architectural language of the district the artwork has the ability to disappear into its environment without dominating it.

The project was built in partnership Mace Group. Other supporters and sponsors include Tate, Better Bankside, Ibstock Brick, Norbord, Euroform, Eurobrick, K-Rend, Kingspan, Lyons Annoot, Benchmark Scaffolding, Dhesi and Urban Surface Protection.

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by Alex Chinneck appeared first on Dezeen.

The facade of this house in the English seaside town of Margate appears to peel away from the rest of the building and slump down into the front yard (+ movie).

British designer Alex Chinneck created the installation – called From the Knees of my Nose to the Belly of my Toes – by removing the facade of a detached four-storey house that had been derelict for eleven years and replacing it with a brand new frontage that leaves the crumbling top storey exposed, then curves outwards so the bottom section lies flat in front of the house.

“I just feel this incredible desire to create spectacles,” Chinneck told Dezeen. “I wanted to create something that used the simple pleasures of humour, illusion and theatre to create an artwork that can be understood and enjoyed by any onlooker.”

Located on Godwin Road in the Cliftonville area of the town, the house had been acquired by the local council and earmarked for social housing, but nothing was due to happen to it for a year and the structure was in a dilapidated state. “There were barely any floorboards, it’s very fire-damaged at the back and water-damaged at the front, and had fallen into ruin,” said the designer.

His installation reveals this dilapidated interior where the smart new facade falls away from the top floor. “I increasingly like that idea of exposing the truth and the notion of superficiality,” he explained. “I didn’t go into the project with that idea, but as it evolved I started to like that.”

Cliftonville is a district of Margate that used to be affluent, but like many seaside towns in the UK it has suffered with the changing patterns of holidaymakers. “It has social issues, it struggles with high levels of crime and the grand architecture has fallen into a fairly fatigued state,” said Chinneck.

In addition to causing delight when residents happen upon his intervention, the designer hopes to will draw visitors up the hill from the centre of Margate, where high-profile projects like the Turner Contemporary gallery by David Chipperfield are using culture as a tool for regeneration.

“Cliftonville is a very poor area referred to as being ‘up the hill’, and the culture and the arrival of artists hasn’t quite reached up the hill yet,” he said. “I was drawn to Cliftonville because it’s an area where the culture hasn’t reached and I think public art too often forgets its responsibility to the public.”

“I like the idea of surprise,” he added. “I never put signs on my work and I never give it any labels, so it does have this sense of mystery. It’s positioned in a way that you don’t see the artwork as you approach from either direction – you just see the hole in the top at first, so it’s a series of discoveries and you have to walk around it.”

The designer initiated the project himself and spent twelve months convincing companies to help him realise the artwork. Everything was donated by ten different companies except the labour, which was done at cost and paid for buy the Arts Council. The installation itself came together in just six weeks by assembling prefabricated panels.

The artwork will remain in place for a year, before the building is converted for use as housing.

Alex Chinneck’s work has often featured dilapidated buildings – past projects Dezeen has reported on include a factory near the Olympic park in east London with 312 identically smashed windows and a melting brick wall.

“I like the contradiction of taking a subject that’s dark or depressing or bleak, something like dereliction which suggests something quite negative socially but also aesthetically, and delivering a playful experience within that context,” he explained. “I don’t think it’s a negative comment on society, it’s just trying to give society a positive experience.”

If you like this, check out the Dalston House in east London, where a mirror reflects the facade of a house lying on the ground to give the illusion that visitors are standing on walls and window ledges. There’s also a student housing block hidden behind the facade of a historic brick warehouse, which has been named Britain’s worst building of the year.

More design by Alex Chinneck »
More installations »

Photographs are by Stephen O’Flaherty.

Here’s some more information from Alex Chinneck:

From the knees of my nose to the belly of my toes

British artist and designer Alex Chinneck has completed construction of his most ambitious installation to date after peeling the front of a four-storey house in Margate away from the rest of the building. As curving bricks, windows and doors slide into the front garden of a property that has been vacant for eleven years its upper interiors are revealed to the public below.

Thanet District Council gave the artist permission to use an empty property on Godwin Road in the Cliftonville area to create the artwork. Cliftonville is a district striking for both the grandeur of its architecture and for the challenging social issues it has faced in the last thirty years. Together with Margate’s widely discussed use of culture as a tool for regeneration, this provides an ideal context for the piece.

The completion of construction follows a twelve-month campaign undertaken by the artist to realise his self-initiated £100,000 project. Ten leading companies across British industry donated all the materials, manufacturing capabilities and professional services required to build the sliding facade.

Alex Chinneck’s practice playfully warps the everyday world around us, presenting surreal spectacles in the places we expect to find something familiar. At 28 years old ‘From the knees of my nose to the belly of toes’ is his boldest project yet as he continues to theatrically combine art and architecture in physically amazing ways. This project follows his acclaimed 2012 installation ‘Telling the truth through false teeth’, in which the artist installed 1248 pieces of glass across the façade of a factory in Hackney to create the illusion that its 312 windows had been identically smashed and cracked.

Alex Chinneck is a London based artist and designer. He is the founder of The Sculpture House, a member of the Royal British Society of Sculptors and a graduate of Chelsea College of Art and Design.

This project has been made possible with support from the Arts Council England, Margate Arts Creativity Heritage, Thanet District Council, Ibstock Brick, Smith and Wallwork Engineers, Norbord, Macrolux, WW Martin, Urban Surface Protection, Jewson, RJ Fixings, Resort Studios, Cook Fabrications, the Brick Development Association, and All Access Scaffolding.

Location: 1 Godwin Road, Cliftonville, Margate, CT9 2HA
Dates: 1st of October 2013 – October 2014

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of my Toes by Alex Chinneck appeared first on Dezeen.

Hackney-based artist Alex Chinneck has fitted identically smashed windows into a derelict factory just a mile away from the Olympic Stadium (+ slideshow).

Presented in association with the Sumarria Lunn Gallery, the installation draws attention to issues of economic and social decline in an area that was hoping to benefit from the regenerative effect of the games.

The project plays on the common assumption that unrepaired broken windows signify this kind of decline.

Chinneck spent four months clearing out soil, water tanks and heat lamps from the abandoned factory, which had last been used to grow cannabis plants.

He used industrial processes to replicate the same smashed window 312 times, with four pieces of glass creating the same break in every pane.

The installation can be viewed until November 2012, after which the building will be demolished.

The building is located on the corner of Mare Street and Tudor Road in Hackney, E9 7SN. Scroll down to see the site in our Designed in Hackney map.

See all the stories from our Designed in Hackney archives »

Here’s some more information about the sculpture:

Everyone knows the broken window theory – that vandalised windows signal an acceptance of social decline. Not so in Hackney where 312 identically smashed windows are causing passers-by to double take. Nicknamed ‘the Banksy of glass’ by local residents, artist Alex Chinneck is replacing broken factory windows with… broken factory windows. Presented by Alex Chinneck in association with Sumarria Lunn Gallery and located just one mile from the Olympic stadium, this intervention transforms a derelict factory building into a public art project.

Growing up surrounded by the industrial architecture of London’s East End, the work of Alex Chinneck removes everyday construction materials from their utilitarian context. Inspired by the landscape of London’s industrial architectural heritage, he finds raw beauty in these solid, purpose-made buildings. Smashed windows in former industrial neighborhoods come as no surprise; but where others see vandalism, Alex Chinneck saw potential: “There is something mesmerising about the way light catches a broken window pane, not only is the glass shattered but so is the reflection.”

Starting with an abandoned factory that had been used to grow cannabis, Chinneck spent a gruelling four months removing the remnants: piles of soil, wires, grow bags, water tanks, plant pots and heat lamps. Following an intense period of preparation, Chinneck then used industrial processes to precisely replicate one smashed window 312 times, replacing each original factory window.

All the visible windows in this building have now been replaced with identically broken sheets of glass – the combination of engineering and accident helping to complete the illusion: “This project always evolved with consideration to sculpture, architecture and engineering but ultimately I like the simple idea of performing a magic trick on such a scale.” In total 312 panes from 13 windows have been replaced with 1,248 pieces of glass – four pieces form the perfect break in every pane. Fast becoming a Hackney landmark, the former factory will soon be demolished, the work disappearing with it.

About the artist:
Alex Chinneck was born in 1984 and is a graduate of the Chelsea College of Art and Design. Most recently he was nominated for the Royal British Society of Sculptors’ Bursary Award. Using contemporary methods of fabrication, Chinneck finds new and ambitious applications for everyday construction materials, removing them from their functional context to create playful installations. By making work that is unconcerned with creative disciplines his sculptures and installations co-exist across the realms of art, design and architecture.

Title: Telling the Truth Through False Teeth
Artist: Alex Chinneck in association with Sumarria Lunn Gallery
Location: corner of Mare Street and Tudor Road, Hackney, E9 7SN
Installation on view: now until November 2012

Designed in Hackney map:

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Key:

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Designed in Hackney is a Dezeen initiative to showcase world-class architecture and design created in the borough, which is one of the five host boroughs for the London 2012 Olympic Games as well as being home to Dezeen’s offices. We’ll publish buildings, interiors and objects that have been designed in Hackney each day until the games this summer.

More information and details of how to get involved can be found at www.designedinhackney.com.

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by Alex Chinneck appeared first on Dezeen.