Monday, 11:21pm
7 June 2010
On the tiles
Mosaics are revitalising the signs and spaces of London’s Southbank
St. Bride’s recent conference brought designers together to discuss the value of craft and the hand-made, writes John Ridpath (see ‘DIY Design’ on the Eye blog).
So I couldn’t help but be drawn to a series of mosaic signs and artworks scattered around London’s Southbank. It turns out that these arresting pieces are the work of Southbank Mosaics, a not-for-profit community enterprise set on ‘transforming the public realm with colour, rhythm and artistic form’.
Top and below: Southbank Mosaics were commissioned by Transport for London to produce these signs for the area around Waterloo Station.
Above and below: Mosaics in the public realm, including signs for Southbank Sinfonia and Bankside Keys.
Above: Gandhi.
Below: Underwater mosaics adorn St. Mary’s Garden Fountain, SE1.
Eye magazine is available from all good design bookshops and at the online Eye shop, where you can order subscriptions, single issues and back issues, including Eye 34, the ‘Public realm’ special. The summer issue, Eye 76, will be a music special. You can read a selection of pages on Eye Before You Buy on Issuu. Student subscriptions are half price, bit.ly/EyeStudentOffer.