Wandered down Electric Avenue after hours recently? Noticed anything different?!
After overcoming multitudinous obstacles, the Electric Patterns Project (produced by The Brixton Project, funded by Lambeth Council and National Lottery Heritage Fund) is going live and brightening up a street near you with bold, colourful abstractions of Brixton’s essential spirit. So take a twilight stroll and keep your eyes peeled to spot every design. To find out more about the project please see here.
In each article of this series we will be highlighting these innovative heritage- inspired designs and letting you know where you can see them for yourself. To find out more about this local creative opportunity, the artists selected and what inspired their designs continue reading.
Fruit and Veg – Yellow and Blue
Locations: 35-37 Electric Avenue, SW9 8JP and 45 Electric Avenue, SW9 8JP
Artist: Federica Dalla Vecchia
As a starting point this design uses the architectural roof metal structure of Market Row. The pattern features images of chillies, white aubergine and sugar apple, all of which are on sale in the market. These fruit and vegetables from the West Indies and Africa symbolically connect two cultures happily co-existing within the multi-cultural atmosphere of Brixton. The background texture is created using the silhouette of rice, a food widely eaten around the world, it symbolizes the connection between different cultures and populations. Another inspiration is the colourful African fabric, also on sale at the market.
Red, white and green fruits and vegetables were chosen to represent the Italian flag, Federica’s native country. As an Italian living in Lambeth Federica has always felt integrated with the local community. For fifteen years she worked as an artist for a Lambeth based charity supporting underprivileged children. One of the services provided, was a hot meal cooked by a chef with an Afro-Caribbean background and as a member of staff she always looked forward to lunch! Federica Dalla Vecchia is a practicing fine artist and art psychotherapist. In her artwork she works by using a variety of media and will often combine organic materials with objects that hold a narrative. Federica is interested in exploring the human condition through addressing themes that resonate both personally and collectively. She is part of the Warrior Studios art collective based in Loughborough Junction and responds to her personal experience of having lived in Lambeth for twenty years.
