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Uplifting Typographic Murals: transforming disused buildings on Morecambe's seafront  
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Date
Summer 2014

Location
Stone Jetty Electrical Sub Station & Promenade Former Toilet Block, Morecambe

Client
Self Initiated for Vintage by the Sea

Artwork
Commissioned by Deco Publique - Designed and Painted by Shane Johnstone and Kate Drummond

Funder
Arts Council England

Project highlight
Both sites have become the photographic backdrop for married couples, holiday makers and festivalgoers!

 

Vintage by the Sea legacy projects, Take the Plunge & #FantasticMorecambe aimed to create positive, uplifting messages that lasted long beyond the festival weekend. Funded by Arts Council England, the two pieces of public art were designed in collaboration with Deco Publique and created by local artists Shane Johnstone and Kate Drummond. 

#FantasticMorecambe decorated the walls of the electricity sub-station behind The Midland Hotel, just next to the Stone Jetty. The artwork reads ‘Trip the Light Fantastic’ and was inspired by Morecambe's show-stopping sunsets. The #FantasticMorecambe hashtag was picked up locally and has become a social media byword for what's possible in our home town. 

During the festival weekend at Vintage by the Sea 2014 we carried out a public consultation about #FantasticMorecambe's next promenade artwork. The disused toilet block at The Super Swimming Stadium, a former art deco lido, became the next canvas and 'Take the Plunge' evolved as a homage to the space and its previous status as a resort attraction. The evocative and uplifting statement suggests taking a bold move whilst ‘Swim Unaided and Self–Propelled from Deep to Shallow’ was the original text of a Blue Seagull Swimming certificate issued to brave young swimmers who braced the water to swim a single length of the olympic salt water pool.

Project Areas

Research | Creative Direction | Project Management | Arts Commissioning |Budget Control |Fundraising

Trip the Light Fantastic

"This location holds many memories. Here I saw my first live gig - Sooty & Sweep with the legendary Harry H Corbett. On Sundays it hosted huge dance bands and outdoor ballroom dancing. These were later replaced by a go-cart track and traditional swing boats operated by a professional wrestler off the telly. I remember painting the gondolas as they were called and naming them after the owner’s nieces and the royal princesses, Diana and Sarah. Opposite you could buy a jug (not a pot) of tea for 50p. Here is where local people and thousands of holiday makers “Trip the Light Fantastic” down memory lane" 

Shane Johnstone

Take the Plunge

Swim Unaided and Self–Propelled from Deep to Shallow

"The porous wall surface was difficult to paint, resulting in many coats being applied to complete the artwork. The painting also took a long time to finish, because so many people stopped to discuss, compliment and enquire about our work! On the final two days of painting we brought along a comments book to capture the thoughts of passers-by. It was interesting to hear what both visitors to the town, and locals, had to say about our work. Debates were provoked about the sites current state of disrepair, and the lack of current investment in leisure facilities within the town. Everyone appreciated our work, without exception." 

Kate Drummond

Project Funders