That same image caught the eye of Andrew Finnegan, bar board chair at The Space Bar, who saw it on Ed’s stall at Wapping Docklands Market next to Shadwell Basin and decided it would make the perfect present for a friend.
“He drinks regularly in The Grapes and he’s a keen cyclist,” said Andrew. “The painting had a bike outside the pub, so it was the ideal gift.”
Having made the connection and, keen to forge local partnerships for mutual benefit, Ed was duly invited to exhibit some of his work at The Space Bar – the hospitality arm of the Westferry Road arts centre on the Isle Of Dogs.
Completely coincidentally, its patron is Sir Ian.
Ed is often to be found sketching around Docklands
an amazing building
“It’s an exciting venture for me because The Space is such an amazing building and one that’s not particularly well-known outside the area,” said Ed.
“The bar now has some of my original works on the wall as well as prints that are available, framed or unframed.
“People are buying about one a week at the moment.
“With this collaboration, what I’ve tried to do is capture the local area – pubs, the historic cranes, Millwall, the dock and the Docklands Sailing And Watersports Centre as well as other locations along the Thames.
“My watercolour of The Space itself has already sold and prints have gone off round the world.
“I’ve got loads more pictures in the pipeline and – working in this area, I’ve been introduced to other buildings and other pubs – so this is the start of something that I hope will continue to be a real success.”
Detail from Ed’s image of Millwall Outer Dock
from architecture to painting
Originally an architect, Ed found the increasing digitisation of the profession less than satisfying and began selling his paintings at Wapping Docklands Market in 2021.
He also trades at its sister markets in Canada Water and Tower Hill and sells his paintings through Skylark Galleries on the South Bank, working full time as an artist.
“My work appeals to different people – locals who have lived in the area for many years, people moving into the area, those moving out and tourists visiting,” he said.
“Commissions are a big part of my income too.
“Only this morning, I was talking to a boat-owner about doing a painting of their boat, which is fantastic.
I also recently delivered a big order to Tower Bridge’s gift shop, which is their fourth in the last couple of years, so it’s all going really well
“Thanks to social media I’m now selling work internationally, which I never thought would happen. I’m always out drawing and painting with my sketchbook.
“It’s like when you’re out walking a dog, people come and talk to you and you get a lot of feedback that way.
“I’m planning to do more panoramic views of the Thames which are popular and have already painted the oldest pub on the Isle Of Dogs – The Ferry House – and places like Burrells Wharf, which is where Brunel’s ship The Great Eastern was built and launched from.
“That sold within 24 hours of going up at The Space.”
Ed’s signed prints start at £50, with original paintings available from £295.
- Jon Massey is co-founder and editorial director of Wharf Life and writes about a wide range of subjects in Canary Wharf, Docklands and east London - contact via jon.massey@wharf-life.com
Canary Wharf’s Pride month celebrations generally feature vibrant colours.
From the rainbow pedestrian crossings to the multicolour triangles of Lothar Götz, subtly recalling the abuse of LGBTQIA+ people at the hands of the Nazis.
Pass by close up and his monochrome dots may well be incomprehensible – a random pattern in black and white.
But move further away and things start to come into focus.
Passers-by take in Get Real at Wren Landing
discovery in abstraction
“While I was painting it, I hadn’t really comprehended the image because I was very close to it all the time,” said Henry, who spent three weeks creating the work.
“When I felt something from it was when I went over to the other side of the dock.
“That action of taking a step back is when the emotion comes, not necessarily one particular feeling, but really trying to understand something and getting to know it.
“The act of abstraction and including hidden references is a very queer thing. I could say that the dots are a queer abstraction, which is a theory in itself.
“Then there’s the use of colour in the work – I wanted to create something more understated for this commission.
“With the black dots I was thinking about light, so I used aluminium reflective paint as the base, which literally takes light and colour from the sources around it.
“That’s a queer thing in itself, because of the constant change that is being influenced by the painting’s environment.
“The black dots are also like a newspaper-style print and the mural as a whole has this aspect of absorption, which is a reflection of queer identity.
“The aluminium paint will pick up some colour in different lights – at sunset it can have an orange glow and there will be a similar effect at five in the morning as well as the glow of artificial lights at night.”
Henry is the second artist to create work on the estate through Canary Wharf Group’s partnership with Pictorum Gallery, following the unveiling of Lydia Hamblet’s Together, Basking On The South Quay in 2023.
A recent graduate of Central Saint Martins, he said he’d developed an increasingly mechanical way of painting, having become interested in technology as a medium.
Henry says the dots he uses create a ‘distorted, abstract look up close’
joining the dots
“I developed this dot technique, using found imagery and photography I do myself,” he said.
“I half-tone and then project them onto a canvas to create a distorted, abstract look up close.
“Then at a distance – or if you view it online – you get a sense of the image that’s there. That’s also the technique I used for the mural.
“The title comes from the film Get Real, which is about coming out in school – it’s quite a raw 1990s movie that was cheaply made but has a real impact and a strong message about growing up gay.
“The painting’s title is also about Jacques Lacan’s psychoanalytic theory of The Real – that your self comes from within and is not influenced by anything else.
“I don’t really believe in coming out, but my real self is found in the images in the work. It features my friends Ed and Tommy as well as me on the thinner wall.
“It references my own queer friendships and intimacies, which have only developed quite recently, so there’s discovery too, which I wanted to celebrate.
“It’s a strange feeling to have this mural in Canary Wharf. It’s my thing, but it’s also such a public display of the work.
“I would have to go and see people looking at it to understand how that feels – I can’t really imagine it.
“I found the process of doing it very exposing, because there were people watching me doing it. It did feel good to complete it.
“My friends and family all came to the launch and I felt pleased with what I’ve done.
“I’d never been to Canary Wharf before this project, I didn’t know who I’d be working with or where.
“There were a lot of late nights, a lot of work, but we got it done and I feel very accomplished.
Viewers can make out images as they move further away from the work
key details: Get Real in Canary Wharf
Get Real can be seen at Wren Landing (between Cabot Square and West India North Dock.
It is a permanent part of Canary Wharf’s public art collection and will be on display for the foreseeable future.
- Jon Massey is co-founder and editorial director of Wharf Life and writes about a wide range of subjects in Canary Wharf, Docklands and east London - contact via jon.massey@wharf-life.com
As we stand beside the head of Boris Johnson on Blackheath, a young spaniel scampers up and urinates on it.
After I mention to the four-legged critic’s owners that I’m with the artist who created the sculpture, they’re immediately full of apologies and dash off with the same nervous energy as their canine charge.
He’s already set fire to it at Speaker’s Corner and, having been made, run its course and suffered symbolic destruction, it has now returned to the streets of Greenwich like the discarded newspaper it started life as.
He’s not sentimental about it – surprising, perhaps, given the effort that went into creating it.
“I built my own machines so that I can physically sculpt things,” said Mohamed.
“I’ve been an industrial designer since the age of 14 and, after graduating from the London College Of Communication, I’ve worked for large format fabrication companies in their research and development departments.
“When the pandemic struck I’d just signed a lease on a workshop in Greenwich and then I was furloughed.
“With Old News, I had been developing slicing capabilities – how to accurately cut an object at higher and higher resolutions.
Old News shortly after completion – 6,277 pages of newspaper
“3D printing uses this technique and it’s similar to the idea of pixels in an image.
“The first thing I made was using sheets of cardboard, then sheets of metal and then newspaper at 0.3mm per slice.
“The first Covid lockdown was kicking off and I collected newspapers.
“I had to remove the staples from every copy and iron each sheet. While I was doing that, I was thinking about what to make and Boris’ face was everywhere.
“I produced a digital version of him using photogammetry, which uses images from many different angles to create a 3D map.”
Mohamed used this to cut some 6,277 newspaper pages, working in layers of five to precisely reproduce the former prime minister’s head in three dimensions – stacking them on a steel base plate with precisely calibrated bars holding them in place.
Artist and designer Mohamed Mohamed
“To iron the newspaper took a week, to cut it was three weeks, and to assemble it was me in a dark room for another three,” said Mohamed.
“There’s a level of dedication – of sacrifice to be able to make something honestly like that. Before I made my own pieces, I made work for lots of other people.
“If an artist uses a 3D printer or wields a violin themselves, that’s one thing. If you’re paying someone to do it for you, to me, that’s something else.
“I’m not qualified to judge whether it’s better or worse, but for me personally, I have to physically feel the sweat on my brow, and that links me with my work – that I have physically done it.”
During our conversation, the topics of truth and process come up consistently. Both sit very much at the heart of what Mohamed does.
“I have been making art as a way to sharpen my skill-set for as long as I can remember,” he said.
“It’s a gymnasium for my brain – you create geometry or a thing that doesn’t have to solve a problem – I just have to challenge myself to do it.
“In an art setting, you’re just expressing what’s inside you.
Detail from Penny for Your Thoughts – Heads, 2023 – made with found pennies by Mohamed
“While I work, I pick up litter and that’s what my sculptures are made from. I’ve always been very much into environmental causes and we’ve got a lot of stuff going into landfill.
“If you’re creative, you can turn those objects into something else.
“So I collect lots of things – I’ve picked up coins, a toothbrush and gambling pens on the way here – I have thousands of them in a bucket and I have lots of buckets of different things.
“I listen a lot to the Quran and I see the fineness of art in the world around me.
“The purest art would be the sunrise itself – then a painting of it, a scan of that printed out and so on.
“I know I’m not going to be at the top of that hierarchy, but I can take secondary creations like empty bottles of beer and turn them into something else.
“For me, it’s about taking objects which have been discarded – that someone felt were worthless – and giving them worth.
“I gather things then ask what skill level I’m at and what physics and technology will allow me to do.
Mohamed’s Cleave, 2020 -made with playing cards and a #7 clamp
“I use things like CNC machines or 3D scanners, but I’m not deluding myself – they are just tools, no different than a pencil.
“They allow me to produce what I want to create better.
“The beauty of it, for me, is the engineering element. Anthony Gormley is one of my favourite artists and I like how his pieces are made, how the magic is done, which no-one ever looks at.
“People might appreciate the message of a piece, but if an artist concentrates too much on that, they end up trying to sell you a message.
“Then what’s created is no longer art, it’s just decoration.
“When I work, I am trying to distil my skill level – my entire life’s work – into a physical object and then move on.
“I’m not then sentimental about that piece – it’s made.”
Mohamed, who has Palestinian roots and lives and works in Lewisham, uses the example of a tree.
While its trunk, branches, leaves and blossoms might appear impressive at any one time, he says he sees the whole growing process – the complete history of the entity.
He said people looking at his art were often considering the fruit of the tree, rather than seeing this story.
It’s one reason why those viewing his work may wish to be wary of interpreting his pieces as overtly political.
“The fact Old News features Covid and Boris is irrelevant to me, but significant to others,” he said.
“The beauty of art is that it doesn’t have to mean anything to me – I’m just the vessel for the thing and other people analyse it.
“If I was making Old News today, it would be about the Palestine conflict – 10 years ago, it would have been about weapons of mass destruction.”
Detail from Rock Paper Scissors, 2021 – made with marble, dagger and money
need to know
Old News can currently be found at the Old Donkey Pit, also known as Millennium Circle, at 0º longitude on Blackheath.
- Jon Massey is co-founder and editorial director of Wharf Life and writes about a wide range of subjects in Canary Wharf, Docklands and east London - contact via jon.massey@wharf-life.com
“Immersive” is one of the most over-used words when it comes to the arts.
But Confluence at Cody Dock has a singular and legitimate claim to it, if desired.
Artist Tom Fisher has created a body of work based on a five-month residency at the community-led regeneration that literally plunges the ears of listeners into the River Lea and its environment.
Working under the name Action Pyramid, the sonic artist and musician was awarded Cody Dock’s Lighting Up The Lea commission – a challenge to respond creatively to its Tidal Lea River Ecology Report.
While some might have expected lights and bulbs to play a part in that response – given the title – with typical freedom of thought, the decision was made to fund a project that would illuminate the river for visitors in a different sense.
Supported by Cockayne Grants For The Arts, The London Community Foundation and the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Confluence itself comes in multiple parts.
Artist Tom Fisher, aka Action Pyramid, records sound under water
The first is already in place and free for visitors to Cody Dock to experience.
Listen To The Lea allows up to two people to put on headphones at a dedicated spot and listen live to the sounds of the river below via two hydrophones that are permanently submerged in its waters.
The free listening post will be in place until June 12, 2024, with visitors able to listen in person or to tune in online.
“I find it very relaxing,” said Gino Brignoli, biodiversity officer at Cody Dock.
“I can’t stop myself from trying to figure out what it is I’m hearing – perhaps I’m not zen enough – but I really enjoy sitting there and listening.
“I love being next to the water – having the opportunity to see the river, especially at slack tide when the Lea is relatively still.
“I find it fascinating that so much sound is contained within its waters.
“While we don’t necessarily know what we’re listening to through the hydrophones, water is an amazing conductor of sound and there are so many things to hear.
Tom with his Listen To The Lea installation
“Everything that lives beneath the surface tends to communicate that way because it’s a murky world and vision is unreliable.
“We can’t be certain, but we think we may have heard fish moving pebbles around and clams letting out air on the bottom.
“Personally, I like that the sounds give you an imaginary world to enter.”
While the Lea is considered to be “bad” environmentally speaking – with Gino and other groups targeting improvements that will at least see it receive a rating of “poor” – the river nevertheless teems with life.
Lighting Up The Lea’s focus is on turning the spotlight on an ecosystem that supports bats, eels, kingfishers and grey seals as well as invaders such as crayfish and mitten crabs.
“It’s about saying: ‘Hey, this is London’s second largest river and very few people know about it – either that it exists at all or that it’s significant’,” said Gino.
“There’s a lot of work to be done to make sure people know about it, so they can visit.
“We’ve had visitors from Eastlea School in West Ham, for example – which is named after the river – and found that even the teachers hadn’t necessarily made that connection, or been aware that the Lea is here in east London.
Gino enjoys the sounds of the Lea looking towards Tower Hamlets
“The exciting thing about working in ecology is that as long as there’s a will, we can actually achieve quite a lot. The younger generation seem to be more engaged – it’s exciting because this is where the change will come from.”
Awareness is ultimately the point of Confluence – an appropriate name for a work created on the tidal Lea where fresh water meets brackish, changing direction twice a day as it rises and falls by four or five metres.
The second part of the work will come in the form of an installation that is set to launch with a live event on April 12, 2024.
Tom’s sonic work – wrought from recordings of the subaquatic world, the movement of the Lea estuary’s mud, passing bats and seasonal birdsong – will then be available to hear daily in a dedicated listening space at The Barn, Cody Dock’s new venue and arts space.
“It has been a real pleasure to begin working on this commission, with the Lea often being a source of inspiration for my work,” said Tom.
“The chance to spend extended time exploring, listening to, and learning about the local tidal ecosystem and surrounding habitat has been really wonderful.
“Something which is often a feature of my practice is using sound as a means to help us reconsider a place.
“The site’s ecology report has been a fascinating starting point.”
Cody Dock CEO, Simon Myers, added: “The lower Lea is rapidly changing and without wider appreciation and awareness of its incredible urban biodiversity we are on track to lose this rich diversity, just as people are rediscovering this under-appreciated corner of London.
“My hope is that this commission will quite literally help shine a light on the Lea while also producing a new piece of immersive art that inspires people’s imagination.”
Tom’s installation will be available to listen to at Cody Dock’s art space The Barn
dive in
The Listen To The Lea part of Confluence is available to experience daily for free on the east bank of the river. It will be in place until June 12, 2024.
Action Pyramid’s installation will be available to listen to for free after April 12.
While Cody Dock is continually open for walkers, its official hours of operation are 9am-5.30pm daily.
The regeneration effort offers people a wealth of opportunities to volunteer, including on projects to restore and re-flood the dock itself, to clean up the Lea and to observe and record the wildlife that can be found locally.
The scheme is home to a wide variety of initiatives aimed at transforming a formerly derelict toxic waste dump on an industrial estate into an area and facility, which can be enjoyed and visited by local residents and those further afield.
- Jon Massey is co-founder and editorial director of Wharf Life and writes about a wide range of subjects in Canary Wharf, Docklands and east London - contact via jon.massey@wharf-life.com
Opening 11am-5pm on November 18 and 19, 2023, at The Forge on Westferry Road, the event offers visitors the chance to get their festive shopping sorted with a wide range of products including accessories, fashion, jewellery, ceramics, stationery, prints and textiles available to purchase.
Craft Central event coordinator, Marguerite Metz, said: “We invite makers from our wider network to come and sell in our gallery space for this annual event, so we have a lovely mix of applied arts and crafts as well as some of the studio holders at The Forge.
“It’s a great community event for locals and people throughout London to come to – we had about 1,000 last year.
“The building itself is quite unusual and lots of people walk past and have no idea what’s inside.
“It’s not normally open to the public, so this is a chance for people who are interested in what’s going on to visit.
“The makers we have are all lovely and they really enjoy it.
“They like it because it’s easy for them to showcase their products, due to the people who come and also the relaxed atmosphere it has.
“The market is not-for-profit, we do it to support the makers and to show the community the possibilities of making.
“It only works if local people come and take advantage of the chance to visit and support the people trading, so we want to welcome as many as possible.”
Visitors to the market will find a wealth of products on offer
Makers trading at the market will include Diaphane Candles, artist Almha McCartan, Anonoma Jewellery, Ark Jewellery, embroiderer Beatrice Mayfield, Bibba London (jewellery), Brûler Candles and By Kala X (products made with African prints).
Also attending will be Caroline Nuttall-Smith (printmaker and ceramicist), Elektra Kamoutsis (ceramicist), Forge + Thread (accessories), Frank Horn (leatherwork), Gruff Turnery (wood turning)Heim Design (concrete products) Kam Creates (jewellery) Karn’s Textile design, Kate Hodgson Jewellery, Maria Maya (homeware), Mark Waite Paintings and Morgan Amber (textiles).
As if that wasn’t enough, Mountain And Molehill (lampshades), Noriko Nagaoka Ceramics, Pipet Design (silk scarves), Tomoko Hori Jewellery And Object Sato Hisao (paper crafts), Suzie Lee Knitwear, Tangent Accessories and Ted Houghton Studio (knitwear), will be there too.
The Winter Market will also be hosting two drop-in workshops where visitors can get creative.
On the Saturday, Funky Jewellery Making will offer participants the chance to transform a variety of vintage objects, images and unusual items into bespoke jewellery.
People are welcome to bring their own objects to incorporate into their designs or to draw on the selection provided.
Makers will be on hand to sell their creations
All attachments and jewellery findings will be included.
Marguerite said: “Visitors might create surreal pieces of jewellery, with fun items to put together for themselves or make unique pieces that will be perfect for a Christmas gift.
“People are welcome to upcycle odd bits-and-bobs.”
On the Sunday, designer Georgia Bosson will be hosting Festive Block Printing with participants able to create a piece of textile wrapping paper or a Christmas card using hand-carved wooden blocks. The activity is suitable for ages 5+.
“Using textile wrapping paper is a Japanese tradition and it’s sustainable because it’s reusable,”said Marguerite.
“If they wanted to, people could come on Saturday and make a present, before returning on Sunday to create the wrapping.
“These workshops are part of Craft Central’s duty to help bring craft to people.”
The suggested donation for both sessions, which run from 12.30pm-4.30pm on a drop-in basis, is £5.
Some makers with studios at The Forge will also be opening these up for visitors to see during the event, including Crushed Pearl (floristry), Pon Studios (ceramics), Tanya Roya (artist), Olive Road, (vintage fabrics) and SilPhi Glass (jewellery).
Some studios at The Forge will also be open for visitors to view
Craft Central, in addition to being a provider of studio spaces for designer makers at The Forge, is always looking to extend and grow its network.
To that end, the charity is introducing a new tiered membership scheme with the aim of getting more people involved in its activities.
Its basic package includes access to an insurance scheme for craft workers and designer makers as well as inclusion in its online directory. The package costs £53 per year.
There’s also an enhanced package for £99, which includes a selection of discounts on markets and activities as well as access to community programmes and business advice.
The top £199 premium package is available to established artists or makers and is by application only.
It includes a range of substantial discounts as well as use of The Forge’s exhibition and workshop space for free.
“We wanted to offer different options so that people can easily access Craft Central,” said Anne-Sophie Cavil, who handles communications and marketing for the organisation.
“A graduate, for example, might take a basic membership, while more established makers might choose the enhanced or premium options, that offer a range of benefits.
“The one you choose will depend on where you are in your career.”
- Jon Massey is co-founder and editorial director of Wharf Life and writes about a wide range of subjects in Canary Wharf, Docklands and east London - contact via jon.massey@wharf-life.com
Originally from Argentina, the artist and teacher studied in Buenos Aires and at Central Saint Martins in London in the 1990s before relocating to Asia in the early 2000s.
Having returned to the UK to live on the Isle Of Dogs in 2019, she took a studio at The Forge, Craft Central’s Westferry Road facility, where she works and runs classes (often involving a glass of wine or two).
Now she’s eager to use the former industrial building as a venue to showcase her work and that of other artists by creating an annual event – The Forge Art Fair.
“I’ve always been very independent and I never paid a penny to expose my art,” she said.
“When I was in Hong Kong, I was a member of a group and we’d find sponsors to put on exhibitions.
Detail from one of Carolina’s works
“Here it’s different – it can be very difficult and when I found that one organisation wanted to charge me £800 to have my work in an art fair, I decided to start my own.
“It took a while to find the right artists for this.
“The main idea I had was that it should be at The Forge – it’s a great place and it needs to be known as creative and artistic.
“I thought that if I created a proper contemporary art fair here, that will create some noise and help draw people from outside the local area to come and visit.
“I knew we couldn’t do 100 artists, that we’d start small and then, if successful, we’d grow.”
The Forge Art Fair is set to take place from October 20-26, 2023, with a private view on October 19 from 6pm-8pm.
The exhibition will feature work by eight contemporary artists including Carolina herself.
“This is not a collective – for that, the people involved would need to have something in common,” she said.
Detail from a painting by Pierre Benjamin
“For the fair, every artist’s work has to be different from what’s next to it.
“I hope it brings people into The Forge and that we amaze them with what’s on display here in east London.
“There aren’t many places where you will find a beautiful gallery with fantastic artists all together, showing you their art, that’s also free to visit.”
Visitors to the fair will find work by painter, sculptor and NFT artist Pierre Benjamin, silkscreen printmakers and collage artists Jairo And Nicola and sculptor and designer Arturo Soto.
Also on show will be paintings by Jasmine Honor Mercer, work by painter and illustrator Tammy Walters, photographic abstraction from Het and pieces from digital artist Leah Ibrahim Sams.
Carolina herself works in a range of media, often blending painting with 3D printing to create pieces that literally burst off the canvas.
“The Forge is a wonderful building but it’s not ready for art – it doesn’t have enough wall space, so we’ll be using display boards for the pieces,” said the Isle Of Dogs resident, who created digital collages from images of Mudchute Park And Farm during the pandemic and sold them to help raise money to feed the animals.
Detail from a work by Leah Ibrahim Sams
“I really hope that people will be able to see what I saw when I came to The Forge – that it’s a beautiful place.
“My work is inspired by my own life.
“For example, there’s breast cancer – a horrible thing like this where you lose friends, so I wondered how I could make it beautiful?
“I mixed in fashion – Gucci, Alexander McQueen and Versace – for a series called Looking Up that’s about cancer and death.
“There are also pieces to do with the menopause, age and health. It’s all the same thing – it has to be about my life.
“When I was growing up in Argentina we had a military government. People were disappearing – there were so many horrible things all around us.
“When I was little I didn’t know what an artist was.
Detail from a piece by Tammy Walters
“My parents definitely never mentioned that I should study drawing or anything like that.
“But my grandma, who travelled a lot and loved art, said that I should be allowed to study, so I went to art school when I was 14.
“That was an amazing time in my life, when I was studying art – it was like an explosion of creativity as the military government was coming to an end.
“I met amazing artists, including Philippe Noyer, who is still alive and influenced me a lot. He showed me how to express my ideas.
“It was while I was in Asia that I had the idea of bringing my pieces more to life in relief, but I couldn’t think how.
“I couldn’t use papier mache or anything like that, because it would have been damaged by the humidity.
“Then a friend of mine – a very bright and creative person – who was one of the first people to have a 3D printer, suggested I could try using one.
Detail from a work by Jairo and Nicola
“He said he’d heard there was someone in Japan doing it.
“But I thought it wasn’t very artistic and so I said no. This is always me – I say no at first.
“It took a while but then I had an idea and started designing what I wanted to create. The technology does have its limits but you work with it.
“First I paint on the canvas, then I put the 3D element where I want it and paint over the top in acrylic to make the finished piece.”
Animal illustrator Tammy Walters will be running live drawing class I Love Dogs on October 21 at 3pm, with NFTs: Empowerment Through Art scheduled for 6pm on October 23.
Carolina will be hosting 3D Artist Exhibition Tour, covering her work and a printing demonstration on October 25 at 5.30pm and visual artists Jairo and Nicola will lead Fairytale And Surrealist Screen Printing on October 26 at 5.30pm.
The latter costs £5 with participants taking home a finished screen print.
Detail from an sculpture by Arturo Terraquio
Carolina is also a qualified fine art teacher and runs regular classes at The Forge – so for those unable to visit the fair, there are other ways to get involved in art.
She is currently offering Ladies Night sessions – which run over the course of a month with participants producing a finished artwork over four classes. The next begins on October 10.
“I’d taught in Hong Kong and one of the classes which was very popular there was this concept for women,” she said.
“We open some wine, but we learn about art too.
“Each month we do a different project – we might look at acrylics or watercolour, for example.
“We’re all busy working on our pieces but it’s also an opportunity to chat.
“We look at painters and take inspiration from them – especially English artists as we are in London.”
The sessions cost £100, which covers four 90-minute classes over the course of a month. In October these take place on Tuesday evenings from 6pm.
The Forge Art Fair runs from October 20-26 at the Craft Central venue. It will be open from 11am-8pm Friday-Sunday and from 4pm-8pm Monday-Thursday. Entry is free.
- Jon Massey is co-founder and editorial director of Wharf Life and writes about a wide range of subjects in Canary Wharf, Docklands and east London - contact via jon.massey@wharf-life.com
As its branding suggests, it’s a place that’s all about welcoming people in and allowing them to get up close to the pieces.
Works are hung to cover the available space rather than reverentially displayed in acres of white space.
Nevertheless, the gallery has some big names on its list, dealing in the likes of Peter Blake, Jeff Koons, Damien Hirst, Lucy Sparrow, Patrick Caulfield and Gilbert And George.
“We mainly specialise in signed, limited edition prints from established and emerging artists – although we do have originals too,” said Helen Hiett, buying director at Enter Gallery.
“You can find art that’s anywhere from £50 to £50,000 in our Brighton gallery. Art is for everyone and is meant to be accessible.
“When people come in, one of us will usually come and chat to them and tell them a little bit about what’s on display – we try to demystify art.
Enter Gallery buying director Helen Hiett
“We help to guide them to pieces.
“We have about 400 pieces on the wall there, all mixed together – emerging artists mixed in with more collectable names, so that people are drawn to something they love.
“We also have a lot of unframed prints in the drawers, so we can get those out and show people.
“The main thing that hits you when you enter is a lot colour – different types of pieces and a whole range of different artists – more than 100 in total.”
Helen’s current role is, in some ways testament to Enter’s ethos.
She was passing by the Brighton gallery and spotted a piece by Dan Hillier, an artist whose work she’d loved while studying illustration at university.
She walked in and handed over a paper CV to a man who turned out to be owner Lawrence Alkin.
An interview followed and, after nine years, she’s never looked back.
“It was fun and it was a very strange way of ending up in a gallery,” she said.
“I’d run pop-up galleries and immersive events in London and Brighton, so I knew I wanted to work in the art world.
“But the places I had lived in before hadn’t had the sort of artists that appealed to me – there were a lot of landscapes and more classical pieces.
Enter Gallery hangs all sorts of pieces right next to each other
“I really liked Enter Gallery because it has art for everyone – street art, fine art, illustration and it had people who used to work in fashion but moved into printmaking, so it’s really varied, and you can see that on the walls – that’s what really appealed.
“The art is quite humorous, with quite a lot of colour, a lot of happiness in many of the pieces, with nods to the history of music and pop culture – there’s a bit of everything.”
The Canary Wharf pop-up, which can be found on the main mall level beside Starbucks, is very much arranged in keeping with the original gallery’s aesthetic.
Brightly-coloured prints line the walls, guarded by Buddha Smalls, a statue of the Notorious BIG masquerading as a curvaceous figure of enlightenment.
Squatting a metre-high, the piece is cast in resin to resemble ivory and carries a price tag of £10,000 – mo money, mo sculpture.
“We’ve worked with him for more than 10 years and he makes pop art often to do with music – rap and hip-hop – he’s brilliant.
“We’ve always loved doing pop-ups in London and we thought Canary Wharf would be an exciting place to try.
“We thought it would be a great way to let people see how we can bring a little bit of Brighton to the area, but also all the artists who work for us, so that they can be exposed to a different audience.
“We’ve tried to echo the original Enter Gallery and, while we were setting up, we had someone come in and tell us it really reminded him of somewhere in Brighton – we had to tell him it was us.
Enter Gallery specialises in limited edition prints and originals
“We’ve had a really warm response so far, and we’re really encouraged by that.
“Even when setting up we have lots of people popping their heads in and asking what is happening and whether they can come and see, which of course they can.
“Our dream with this would be to make a lot of new connections, to collaborate on new projects and then introduce the artists and the art to new clients and groups of people.”
As buying director, Helen’s remit is to fill the walls of Enter Gallery with the right kind of stuff – working with artists to source pieces she thinks will do well.
“My role is a bit of a mixture, really,” she said. “We have artists that come in who we meet, or it might be through other people who visit and recommend something they love.
“It can be through Instagram, and we also have a submissions process on the website.
“Then we also go to a lot of art fairs like Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair and we go scavenging in Miami every year, because they have a load of emerging artists, and from all over the world.
“Personally, I’m quite fickle when it comes to art – if it’s just come out, I’ll be really interested.
“I like any art that has a story behind it, something to look at that you can really think about or just if it’s funny.
“One of the pieces I like is a really cool new map by Justine Smith of the Thames.
“Her work is really hard to appreciate online because it’s really detailed.
Buddha Smalls by Ryca at Enter Gallery
“She often uses pieces of different types of banknote and makes a collage of them – there are so many layers of meaning in her work.
“From far away the pieces just look like an image until you get up close and realise there’s a lot going on.”
Crucial to Enter Gallery is the idea that art need not be expensive or financially cumbersome to acquire.
“We participate in a really good scheme called Own Art, which is backed by Arts Council England – people can buy art and then pay for it over 10 or 20 months interest free,” said Helen.
“It was designed to support artists and the people purchasing, so the artists can make money from their work and it doesn’t break the bank for purchasers.”
Failing that, Wharfers can just pop down and drink in the creativity all over the walls.
- Jon Massey is co-founder and editorial director of Wharf Life and writes about a wide range of subjects in Canary Wharf, Docklands and east London - contact via jon.massey@wharf-life.com
Walk down the side of Woolwich’s Jobcentre Plus and you’ll find a recently installed mural decorating a once bare brick wall.
Ellen Strachan’s Work In Woolwich mural is one of five artworks commissioned by the council to brighten up the area and showcase its heritage.
“My piece looks at the past, present and future of work locally,” said Ellen, a former physics teacher who lives in Abbey Wood and decided to pursue art full time after the birth of her daughter three years ago.
“There are three large panels that have those themes and two others that were created based on the stories and creations of local residents who participated in workshops about that theme while I was developing the work.
“Some told me about their lives, while others created their own paper cut outs for inclusion in the piece.
“I hope my mural makes viewers think a little bit about the people around them – how we are reliant on each other and that everyone’s work helps us as a community.
“I’d like them to think a little bit about the past and all the people who have contributed to where we are now, the future and where we are going.
“It’s a time of such change, with more technology coming and jobs changing quite a lot and it was interesting to look into that.
“Environmental considerations are also very important – since we’re going to need to make a huge change in how our economy works with regard to everything from transport to heating.
“If people look at the mural, I hope they wonder why I’ve chosen the things that are featured and ask themselves what they would choose if they were creating a piece.”
Welcome To Woolwich by The Collective Makers on Powis Street
Ellen’s work in this instance comes as printed vinyl, although she usually works in lino cut or using cut-out paper collage, which was the basis for the mural before it was digitally scanned.
“I like those techniques – I’ve always used a pair of scissors,” she said.
“Both make you think about the positive and the negative – where something is either printed or it’s not.
“The artwork for this mural has been created using paper, which makes me simplify what I’m doing and create something quite bold.
“It feels really good to have the piece finally unveiled.”
The council commissioned the piece as part of its Woolwich Mural Trail – a series of works by local artists created with local residents, schools and community organisations.
It joins Welcome To Woolwich by The Collective Makers on Powis Street, Your Woolwich in Beresford Square by Paige Denham and Foxfield Primary School, Woolwich Scenes in Myrtle Alley by Marc Drostle and Area Of Prosperity in Barnards Close by Haffeera Cader Saul and Nightingale Primary School, to complete the trail.
Area Of Prosperity in Barnards Close by Haffeera Cader Saul and Nightingale Primary School
“These stunning murals tell the personal stories and aspirations of our community, bringing creativity and colour to Woolwich town centre,” said Greenwich Council cabinet member for equality, culture and communities, Cllr Adel Khaireh.
“It’s fantastic to see how proud the artists and the school pupils are of their artwork, and to see Woolwich’s rich history brought to life.
“On behalf of the council, I’d like to thank all the different artists, community groups, schools and people who got involved and shared their memories and ideas. I hope they will all be enjoyed for many years to come.”
“I actually found out about the mural trail through Made In Greenwich’s May Jane Baxter,” said Ellen.
“Working with them has been really great. Initially when I gave up teaching, I was very isolated as an artist until I went to Made In Greenwich – they’ve really made me feel like I’m part of a community.
“I started by doing surface pattern designs using lino cut prints.
“I’d take them and turn them into textile designs for products, which I’d sell through the shop.
“Then I got the chance to design the Christmas windows for Made In Greenwich, which turned out to be quite important.
Work In Woolwich by Ellen Strachan in Calderwood Street
“Greenwich Council held an open call for artists to do the Woolwich Mural Trail and so I had that as an example of working at a large scale.
“Since then, I’ve had a few more large pieces of work commissioned – I’ve just been working for the past couple of weeks on a mural in Walthamstow for Crate, which is going to open a new food hall in the central shopping centre there.
“My piece will be on the back of one of the kiosks where people enter the space and it will welcome them.
“Working with Made In Greenwich has allowed me to build up my portfolio to apply for this kind of project.
“For example, I have another temporary mural coming up in Woolwich for the Woolwich Stories Cultural Trail, which is going to be taking place in August with some art installations and performances.
“That mural, entitled Woolwich Treepreciation will be on a disused shop front and will focus on trees – it’s showing an appreciation of the street trees in the area with hand prints and thumb prints making up the leaves.
“Local people’s words about the trees will also feature – lettering being a common feature in a lot of my work.”
Woolwich Scenes in Myrtle Alley by Marc Drostle
THE COUNCIL SAYS
>> “I’m so impressed with these special artworks and how they have instantly brightened up empty spaces in the town centre,” said Cllr Aidan Smith.
“Alongside wider improvements, which will get under way this summer, they help make Woolwich a more attractive and vibrant place for residents, businesses and shoppers.
“The upcoming works will provide improved facilities for traders in Beresford Street market including fully accessible public toilets, as well as new planting, better seating, lighting and play spaces throughout Beresford Square and Powis Street.”
- Jon Massey is co-founder and editorial director of Wharf Life and writes about a wide range of subjects in Canary Wharf, Docklands and east London - contact via jon.massey@wharf-life.com
There’s a moment during our interview where Mark Taylor’s voice falters.
The son of successful artist Dallas K Taylor went to art college to become a painter like his father, but wound up initially rejecting his style.
“He painted landscapes and seascapes – it was very commercial,” said Mark.
“He had an art gallery in the North East where I’m from, so I grew up around him working – but I thought I wanted to be a proper artist like Jackson Pollock or Mark Rothko.
“I’d come down to Tate Modern in London and be completely absorbed by the scale of their works.
“Seeing Summertime by Pollock, I was just completely taken away by the real thing. A couple of inches on the page of a book just doesn’t compare.”
After completing a degree in fine art, however, Mark decided to go into boat design rather than opt for the life of a struggling painter – building on a lifelong love of the water, having been raised on boats growing up in Blyth.
“During my degree I’d partnered with boat builders and went to work for a company called Sealine in Kidderminster,” he said.
“I used to watch their £2.5million fancy boats go off down the road on trailers escorted by vehicles with flashing lights, and I realised I was landlocked – it was my dream job, but in the wrong location. I needed to get back to the coast.”
A project helping an artist put together a portfolio led Mark to turn to the classroom as a profession, moving back to the North East to lecture in fine art in the Newcastle area.
“It meant I could be on the lifeboat like my dad and I could teach art as well, so that’s what I did for many years,” he said.
“Then my father discovered he had Motor Neurone Disease and he went downhill pretty fast.
“At that time, he had a 12-month waiting list for his artworks but wasn’t able to fulfil his orders.
Detail from Mark Taylor’s Altitude
“So I decided to leave my position at the college to become his full-time carer.
“I went back to the family home and looked after him and, during that time, I told him I would paint his pictures.
“I’d learned how to make work like his to pay my way through university – I’d nick his style, hang work in his gallery and sell it.
“During the months I cared for him, he showed me a few techniques to emulate his style with a palette knife in oils.
“He taught me to smear the paint on the palette and to cut through it so that, with practice, you can get a thin precise line – perfect for the mast of a boat or a line on a building.
“I developed that style and one day I was painting a very famous scene – the bridge over the Tyne in Newcastle looking down to the quayside. It was a historic scene with horses and carts in the foreground.
“When my father saw it, he said that he couldn’t have ever painted the horses like that and if I could, then I would never be hungry.”
It’s here Mark’s voice falters at the memory – a moment not long before his father died.
“It was really amazing to think I had taken his technique and been able to continue his legacy – to paint like him and then for him to say that he couldn’t have done it himself felt great,” said Mark
“For more than a decade now I’ve continued painting like him but increasingly putting more of myself into it.
“Now I’ve got my own identity I’ve started branching out into different techniques with collage and acrylic rather than oil paint.
“It’s a bit like being a musician – you do a first album, then a second that’s different and now I’m on my third in the London market, which is fantastic.”
Detail from Mark Taylor’s painting of Tynemouth Lifeboat
READ THIS NOW
Sorry to break the flow of the article, but there’s something else that adds depth to Mark’s character.
His father also gave him a lifelong love of being on the sea, coupled with the example of stalwart service saving lives in the RNLI.
Having moved back to the North East, Mark began volunteering on the lifeboat as Dallas had before him.
Rising rapidly through the ranks (thanks to his dad training him in water safety from an early age), he’s now the coxswain for the Tynemouth all-weather lifeboat – the largest in the charity’s fleet – as well as helmsman for the station’s inshore inflatable lifeboat.
While there’s probably enough material for a book in his more than 16 years of volunteering, to save lives in some of the most extreme conditions on the water – one tale stands out.
“I’d just qualified as a navigator when we got the shout that a vessel was sinking 110 nautical miles off the coast,” said Mark.
“We knew we’d have only enough fuel to get out there, do a search and then return so everything was on me to get to the right place.
“The search area was huge – the drifts, the tide, the wind.
"A helicopter picked up a very faint radio message from the stricken boat and we managed to find the vessel, get it on tow and then pull it back to Sunderland over about 14 hours.
“It feels incredible when you can get someone back to their family who would have drowned if it wasn’t for the RNLI.
“That one turned out to be the farthest rescue from shore ever completed in the organisation’s 200-year history and it was my first shout as a newly-trained navigator.
“You risk your life, but there’s a reason why you’re doing it.
“People’s lives are in grave and immediate danger so we go out in all conditions.
“It’s a great thing to be able to do and an honour to be the coxswain, following the retirement of Michael Nugent who I’ve looked up to all the way through.”
Go to rnli.org to make a donation to the charity
Detail from Mark Taylor’s Signs
Which brings us in a roundabout sort of a way to why Mark is featured by Wharf Life.
Recently appointed its artist in residence, Mark has created a series of paintings currently on display there, with more planned to spread throughout the building.
The works use acrylic and, frequently, collage of historic maps of the area, to capture Canary Wharf and views of Docklands as it is today.
“The docks are massively important, when you look at the history of this area and how that has influenced the buildings we have, and the new towers – it’s about celebrating what’s here,” said Mark.
“You’re capturing moments in time. The first painting I did for this series was looking at Canary Wharf from Blackwall Basin – there’s a lovely bit of water there with the reflections of the buildings all around it.
“I took a photograph of that and then, the next time I came down, a concrete lift shaft for a building under construction had sprung up in the middle of the scene so that view is now lost.
“But I was able to capture it and put it in this painting.
“Then, the next paintings can celebrate what is coming in the future.
“For some of the other pieces I was researching what the area had been like and I realised the colour of one of the maps I was looking at was like the windows of the office blocks at night so I began working pieces of collage into the painting.
“That way I have the new in the work while honouring the heritage of the area too.
“I’ve spent the last 11 years concentrating professionally on my art, developing and bringing new elements into my work.
“With the Royal Society exhibition and this residency I think I’m definitely on my way to qualifying as a decent artist.
Detail from Mark Taylor’s Sunset Over Greenwich
“It’s a bit like climbing a mountain – you get to the top and you realise there’s another peak you just didn’t see until you reached that point.
“What I’ve also realised is that my dad was always a great artist – he painted pictures people loved and would request again and again.
“For me, painting standalone works is exciting and I’ve been able to take his technique somewhere completely different.
“I get totally absorbed by the work. I’ll often go into the studio at 10.30am and paint right through until 1.30am. It’s amazing to be in that creative space.
“Luckily I live within sight of the lifeboat station, so when the pager goes off I can drop my tools and go straight out.
“Going on a shout puts everything in perspective. The other day I was under real pressure to get this picture finished for a client.
“I was really feeling it – at a moment where you don’t know where to stop. Is it going right? Is it going well now, but is it going wrong?
“Then I got the call and me and two crew had to go and extract a casualty trapped on the shoreline in a heavy surf, which we managed successfully.
“After being out at sea with the adrenaline pumping, saving someone, I was completely calm.
“In the greater scheme of things if you make a mistake on the canvas you can always paint over it.”
- Jon Massey is co-founder and editorial director of Wharf Life and writes about a wide range of subjects in Canary Wharf, Docklands and east London - contact via jon.massey@wharf-life.com
“You can never run out of things to paint in London,” said Ed J Bucknall.
While he doesn’t say so explicitly during our interview, it’s clear the Wapping-based artist has a deep passion for the city around him – a deep connection to and endless fascination with the very fabric of the place.
“A lot of the inspiration for me is derived from the Thames – the changing light and the changing skyline – because London’s being constantly reconfigured,” he said.
“My works are almost snapshots to record this decade of London expanding.
“I always carry a sketchbook with me, so I’m often seen locally, sketching and drawing in pubs in winter and outdoors in summer.
“I do as much of my work as I can on location, including painting.
“I work in pen and ink, watercolour, acrylic and oils on paper, canvas and even marble.
“I’m self-taught and the nice thing is that I haven’t been moulded to a particular style or technique. I paint what I want to paint and people either like it or not.
“Over time, I’ve learnt techniques that work for me and I take inspiration from generations of amazing artists.”
Detail from Canary Wharf In Mist by Ed J Bucknall
Originally Ed trained as an architect in Leeds, before moving to London in 2011 and continuing to practise his chosen profession.
While drawing was one of the things that first attracted him to architecture, he increasingly found the digital side of his work less satisfying, which prompted a change in direction with the arrival of the pandemic.
“From an early age I’d always painted and drawn for pleasure,” he said.
“When I started as an architect, it was all rooms full of drawing boards, but with computer aided design, you hardly see anything like that now.
“I was having some success with gallery shows and selling art alongside my career as an architect and the lockdowns were the catalyst for me to move into making art full-time.
“I started selling paintings at Wapping Docklands Market at Brussels Wharf in 2021 on Saturdays and then, last year, at Canada Water Market in Deal Porter Square on Sundays.
“I was the first non-food trader at the former and that’s now brought in a lot more crafts, which have been very popular.
Detail from Great Jubilee Wharf by Ed J Bucknall
“At the same time, I exhibit full time at Skylark Galleries on the South Bank.
“Between those three, it’s been great for exposure and I’ve had a lot of success with ongoing commissions including pub signs and bespoke cards for Greene King to sell in their pubs.
“I’ve also had some of my images appear in worldwide publications.
“Art has always been my passion, but I never thought I would make ends meet as an artist.
“One of the things that has surprised and encouraged me since going full time is that it’s possible to make a living making art in London.
“Fortunately for me, my work strikes a chord with a whole range of different people – locals who have lived in the area for many years and are delighted to see an artist draw and paint what they see and experience, people moving into the area, some moving out and tourists visiting.
“I think what appeals is that my pieces are quite traditional but they are not just photos. They are my take on whatever I see inspired by a particular view or the light.”
While Ed’s work often features familiar landmarks, he’s always looking to bring a fresh perspective to the places he draws and paints.
Detail from Shadwell Basin, Wapping by Ed J Bucknall
“Low vantage points always inspire me,” he said.
“When the tide goes out and you’re down on the Thames foreshore, you see buildings and the whole of London in a different way.
“I used to kayak on the Thames, so I was privileged to see unusual views, and that’s part of my mindset. It’s escapism from the hustle and bustle of the city.
“You can be in central London, or in Wapping, just down by the water and it gives you a sense of tranquillity – although you have to be aware of the tides of course, which can also change the view as boats rise and fall.
“The sketches I do on location are much better than photographs, which can distort things – so they are my crib-sheet for working on the finished pieces in the studio.
“I find the paintings just happen – some are happy accidents and some come through skills that I’ve picked up by trial and error.
“Some of my pieces are painted on reclaimed marble, which is quite unusual.
“They look almost three dimensional and have a connection to the history of London.
“Some of the marble I use is recycled Thames ballast that would have been dumped in the river in the 18th and 19th centuries after ships had taken on cargo.
“It has natural patterning and colouration from its time in the river and that’s something I work with.”
A sketch by Ed of the interior of The Grapes pub in Limehouse
As a registered mudlark, Ed has a physical link to both the subject of his paintings and, with the marble, the medium he works with.
“I don’t dig or scrape on the foreshore, I just pick things up from the surface,” he said.
“Anything of archaeological significance is recorded and reported to the Museum Of London.
“The Thames is like a washing machine – items just get churned up and uncovered.”
Trading at the market is another point of connection, where visitors can browse his works or chat with their creator.
“It’s been a steep learning curve but one that I’ve really enjoyed,” he said. “It’s lovely to meet both fellow traders and the general public.
Detail from Ed’s painting of Canary Wharf on reclaimed marble
“I think it’s important that people have an opportunity to speak to artists and I’ve had lovely stories of young people being inspired by my work.”
As for the future, Ed intends to continue balancing the work he wants to paint with commissions from commercial clients and individuals.
Ed’s work is available to buy online with an extensive range of signed prints from £35 and greetings cards and postcards also available. Prices for the latter start at £2.
Readers can also find Ed at Wapping Docklands Market, which runs at Brussels Wharf from 10am-4pm on Saturdays and at Canada Water Market at Deal Porter Square on Sundays at the same times.
Detail from Ed’s painting of St Paul’s on reclaimed marble
- Jon Massey is co-founder and editorial director of Wharf Life and writes about a wide range of subjects in Canary Wharf, Docklands and east London - contact via jon.massey@wharf-life.com
