PEACHES IS THE CREAM OF INSPIRATIONAL LONDONERS

Well known Londoners and unsung heroes immortalised by the future stars of fine art in new exhibition

 

 

A new art exhibition which pays homage to some of the capital’s most inspiring figures is set to be unveiled by London student accommodation provider UNITE this week.

 

Peaches and Pixie Geldof, Norman Foster and every day Londoners who have had a profound impact on the city have been commemorated in artwork by students from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design to celebrate the opening of seven new UNITE properties across London this year.

 

Over 100 Fine Art students from the college, one of Europe’s most prestigious centres of art, were invited to participate. Five pieces were commissioned and will be exhibited in Blithehale Court, UNITE’s new property in the heart of London’s contemporary art scene, Bethnal Green.

 

The winning students were chosen for their creative interpretation of the brief and the exhibition will feature an eclectic selection of Londoners, past and present.

 

Entries were judged by Central Saint Martins Fine Art Course Directors, Jane Lee and Andrew Watson, as well as UNITE’s Sales and Marketing Director, Nathan Goddard.

 

The winning artists:

Phoebe Mitchell – Peaches and Pixie Geldof

Phoebe’s imaginative interpretation of London’s most famous socialite sisters takes the form of two oil on board portraits.

 

Phoebe said: "The infamous daughters of rocker Bob Geldof and the late Paula Yates are the epitome of cool, trashy, teenage hedonism. They may not be saving the world, or carving out an enviable career…yet, but they can inspire us to enjoy ourselves and to take advantage of our youth.

 

"It's exciting to think of the hundreds of students, from all around the country and all over the world that will see my paintings on a daily basis."

 

Ewan MacFarlane - Norman Foster

Norman Foster, the architect behind the Gherkin, 30 St Mary Axe, is immortalised in Ewan’s impressive portrait.

 

Ewan said: "Instead of painting the Gherkin itself I thought it more interesting to paint its architect Lord Foster. However I wanted to make reference to the fantastic structural planning that made the building possible. The result is a painting made up of brush strokes but within each stroke a number of shades."

 

Rose Stuart Smith – Phyllis Pearlsall

Phyllis Pearlsall created the London’s first A to Z of streets by painstakingly walking every street until she had mapped them all. Rose honours Phyllis’ achievement in a series of abstract paintings featuring places of the map.

 

Rose said: "As maps become available on mobile phones and sat-nav, the A-Z may soon fall out of use and Phyllis’ story will be lost, so I was excited to be given this opportunity to make work that commemorates her. She was, like me, a painter so it seemed fitting that the work should also be a painting."

 

Charles Drinkwater - Clara Grant

Charles’ work remembers The Bundle Woman of Bow who created farthing bundles of toys to give to poor children in the early 1900s. His three-dimensional piece incorporates 16 boxes, all containing a farthing bundle.

 

Charles said: "I chose Clara Grant because of her amazing actions. For a single woman, during that time, to make such a difference to children’s lives was remarkable. It reaffirms my belief in human kindness.

 

"I wanted my piece to be a robust, permanent structure. Not only to deal with the practical issues of being in student halls but also to be a work that lasts. A piece of my own personal history left behind."

 

Sue Kemp - Inspirational Londoners

Sue’s art work shows that all Londoners can be inspirational. Her collage is made up of pictures of ordinary Londoners who have achieved amazing things.

 

Sue said: "The type of people that I think inspire students, are individuals they can relate to, everyday, ordinary people who through creativity, self-belief and hard work have achieved amazing things. I consider the people I have used in my work to be inspirational Londoners. 

 

"By seeing the ordinariness of these people, my hope is that it will inspire students to realise that they can achieve whatever they want with self-belief and determination."

 

Each winning artist will be presented with £500 in prize money by MP John Grogan, Vice Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Universities, at a private event at Blithehale Court in July. Their works will be on public show from Wednesday 1st July.

 

Competition judge Jane Lee says: "The response to the commission was very exciting. Clearly the students enjoyed the prospect of working for a company like UNITE which is so close to their own concerns as a provider of student accommodation. We were impressed by the ingenuity of the works put forward. It was difficult for us to choose from such a great variety of responses!"

 

Students can browse, organise a viewing and book UNITE rooms by visiting

www.unite-students.com or calling 0845 602 9976.