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Croydonist article on Matt Bannister
You can now read about some of my Croydon likes and sources of inspiration in a recent interview I did with south London culture website Croydonist. They're a great team and have a really slick website. I suggest paying them a visit.
Croydon Layers from Matt Bannister on Vimeo.
Surrey Street Market from Matt Bannister on Vimeo.
For more details of the auction, visit the i-Bidder online site. The proceeds from all the sales of the buses (all sixty of them, not just mine) will go to Kids Company, Transaid and London Transport Museum.
bus sculptures at the Olympic Park
As required, I took a couple of friends with me to see how my buses were settling in with their new friends and views. Luckily, it was a perfect crisp and sunny day, so there were plenty of other bus-spotters at the park. To see all the other buses lined up across the (very long and wide) bridge near the Orbit was great. I was particularly impressed to overhear one of the volunteer guides (made famous by the 2012 Olympics/Paralympics) explaining the different types of fruit and veg on my Surrey Street Market design. They had obviously done their homework and read the blurb I wrote for the TFL website.
bus sculptures at the Olympic Park
bus sculptures at the Olympic Park
bus sculptures at the Olympic Park
Bus sculptures
All the buses will be auctioned on 24th March, by Christies live and also on the online website i-bidder.com, for the following charities:
Kids Company, who provide practical, emotional and educational support to inner city children, young people and vulnerable families.
Transaid, an international development charity who identify, champion, implement and share local transport solutions to improve access to basic services and economic opportunity for people in Africa and in developing countries.
London Transport Museum, a popular Covent Garden museum highlighting the vital role transport has played in the life of the Capital. They also work with more than 150,000 children each year delivering essential travel safety education to keep our children safe, and they run programmes to help young people into employment.
painted sculpture of a London Routemaster bus
painted sculpture of a London Routemaster bus
painted sculpture of a London Routemaster bus
metal plaque
painted sculpture of a London Routemaster bus
Whilst out in the winter sunshine, trying to eavesdrop on what other people where saying about my work, I realised that after 25th January - my buses will disappear! There is always a chance that someone (or an institution / company) might buy one in the charity auction in February, but as far as I'm concerned I'll never see my work again. Please stand clear of the closing doors.
painted sculpture of a London Routemaster bus
painted sculpture of a London Routemaster bus
painted sculpture of a London Routemaster bus
a plaque
Matt Bannister
painted sculpture of a London Routemaster bus
..and finally, I discovered the other day that my work (along with all the other buses on the sculpture trail across London) also features on a tidy app for smartphones. The whole premise is that you use the GPS functions on your phone (and the app) to help you find every bus (whilst ticking them off and reading about the artist). Here are screen shots of my buses (naturally) from the Apple version. Available from the Apple App Store or Google Play
Bus App screen shot
Bus App screen shot
For a little glimpse into the past workings of my October brain, I've included here the original designs I submitted to Wild in Art. The 'Croydon Layers' design is very similar to the final bus, but the 'Surrey Street Market' one is more complicated than what eventually happened. A fast approaching deadline was the main influencing factor in making these changes, but I'm still very happy with what I eventually produced.
illustration of a bus
illustration of a bus
people looking at a bus sculpture
The first bus of mine, that we came to on our mini tour of Croydon, was 'Surrey Street Market'. It's nestling in Matthew's Yard (rather appropriately), directly outside the cafe/arts venue of the same name. It's also a potato's throw from the market itself.
colourful bus sculpture
two men with a bus sculpture
three people look at a sculpture
The next stop was my bus 'Croydon Layers', which can be found directly outside the doors to the Council offices, in Mint Walk.
man standing by a bus sculpture
Transport for London have also produced some slick photographs of the buses, taken under studio conditions. They look great, and really make the colours pop out.
colourful bus sculpture
colourful bus sculpture
For more information about the Croydon trail (and plans for all the buses next year) visit either of these links:
http://www.wildinart.co.uk/the-launch-of-the-croydon-bus-trail/3479
https://www.facebook.com/transportforlondon/posts/817091588347652