DRAWL: October 2013

Tuesday, 22 October 2013

Heygate Estate and Blue Elephant Theatre.

Last week I made drawings at the soon to be demolished infamous Heygate estate in London with the Topolski residents. We spent some time drawing the iconic Neo Brutalist building from the train platform at Elephant and Castle.

Following this we spent the afternoon at the Blue Elephant Theatre in Camberwell, drawing rehearsals for the production 'Retrospective'

Thankyou to the dancers and Theatre staff for their support.

http://bit.ly/nutshellretro

We were accompanied by Josh, a cameraman who was filming the residents for a documentary on the drawing programme directed by Alistair Oldham from University of the West of England.

Dancer at the Blue Elephant Theatre

Heygate Estate Church RIP

Heygate Estate demolition approaching

The Heygate Estate from the station platform.

The Heygate Estate is controversially undergoing demolition. Completed in 1974 the estate had fallen into disrepair by 2000, however surveyors recommended refurbishment rather than demolition. Four out of five residents didn't want to move out of the estate and contrary to popular belief the crime rate in and around the estate was half the average for the borough of southwark. It was revealed that the council had sold the estate for £50m having spent £44m emptying the site and planning the redevelopment. A compulsory purchase order was implemented in July 2013 forcing the last residents out.

Next location, The Royal Courts of Justice, where the sketchbooks were held on a charge of contempt of court before being released for not being realistic enough.

Saturday, 12 October 2013

Topolski residents draw at the races

A few drawings I made earlier in the week when we went to Windsor races with the Topolski residents. Unfortunately I fell into the lure of the bookies and placed a bet on Rhombus because I liked the name. Obviously my horse came in 5th. However Andrea won two races, following a good tip from the internet. On top of this we made some great drawings and were made really welcome by the staff and public. The weather was fantastic and lighting conditions made the job of on the spot sketching all the more easier. earlier in the day we had a really interesting tour around the Frontline Club near Paddington where the residents are giving a presentation early in 2014.