I woke up this morning hoping yesterday's devastating events in Japan were just a dream. I am so grateful that all my friends are safe, even though the country continues to be on alert and the relentless struggle to rebuild what is a beautiful and fascinating country has only just begun. Having only just visited Japan at the beginning of the year, my prayers go out to everyone who has been affected by the disaster. Yesterday the world didn't feel so big anymore, a tremor in one corner of the globe simultaneously effecting the other. My dear friend Misato @mtomatot from Tokyo poignantly described how our life is so fragile and we do not know what will happen from one moment to the next. We are all with you Japan, every moment of the way.
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This week saw the launch of Bloc Project's new Bloc Billboards programme in Sheffield. Nicola McCartney and myself were commissioned by the contemporary project space under the working moniker, McCartneyVelardi to create independent works around a collaborative context for their two billboards situated in the arts quarter of the city.
Bigger Better is a work I have exhibited in animation form before, but my intentions have always been for the work to be installed within the public realm and I am thrilled my reworked design - spanning 174 x 504cm - has been given the opportunity to do so. A big thank you to Becky and Lesley from Bloc who installed the works - it was a great weekend and I will be reporting on the sights and sounds of Sheffield in my next post.
Visit Bloc Projects for more information about the project and our collaborative process behind the works which will be exhibited until June 2011. For further details about my own public art practice visit jonathanvelardi.com or get in touch at info@studiovelardi.com
Bloc Billboards: McCartneyVelardi
Bloc Projects
71 Eyre Lane
Sheffield
S1 4RB
