Turning Tables

Sometimes we enjoy the freedom that comes with following though an idea generated without a participatory process.

Although we love working in collaboration with all kinds of goups, we also feel the need of resting from it at least once a year.

We initiated this mural near our Head Quaters, to take a break from the rewarding but laborious participatory process, and stretch our own artistic muscles. 

A city as big and diverse as London has the capacity to hold all types of public art; big, small, works forged by whole communities or by just one individual artists.

It is what keeps it fresh

At first, the location of this mural might seem fairly tucked away from busy Queens Road Peckham, but actually the gable end of this unassuming terraced house has a prominent sight-line, so it can be seen from very far away. This creates an interesting line of communication from inside the suburb, to the bustling street and station just outside of it. 

The design itself was an idea repurposed from a previous project opposite Greenwich Station, that until now, never got the chance to actually meet a wall. Here, it has finally found its home after 4 years of search.

So what is it? An upside down table. A riddle- the answers yours to find.

It’s a simple, easily understandable object that for no obvious reason has been flipped nonsensically. It is a slightly surreal, dreamlike situation to behold. 

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The design is a playful interaction with the shape of the wall and the physical space around it. The two chimney towers extend downwards into the composition, and the glowing halo of yellow on the table’s surface seems to speak directly to the real-world hedge below.

One of our volunteers, Luky Trenchard, said it was “an homage to the wall”, and relates to a wider family of Artmongers murals that use their building geometries as direct inspiration.

Turning table could also be about shifting perceptions. Choosing to see things from a different angle, reassessing what we think we know. In a very literal sense, our eyes take in the world upside down, and our brain flips everything the ‘correct’ way round. So, ‘correct’ is just what we’re used to. Does that mean it’s right? In space, nothing has a correct way round.

Lizzie Matthews, one of the various artists who volunteeredLo

Turning Tables is a twist on a familiar expression and invitation to replace old perceptions with new ones. The wall itself underwent a transformation from plain, overlooked space to a colourful question mark.

This mural was self-initiated with no external funding, using 70% recycled paint and the landlord’s permission.  Daniel Barna generously contributed £500 towards paints and the landlord £150 towards onsite costs.

The painting was assisted by volunteering artists Daniel Barna, Lizzie Mathews, Finn Donovan, Lucky Trenchard, Eli Kind, James Christie and Roxy Minter.