Vauxhall Pleasure

We wanted to lay it on thick about traffic and pollution and gardens… Maybe the same thinking that creates gardens, encircled zones of nature, also enables the sort of uber-junction of roads that is Vauxhall Cross. The separation-out of beauty, art and pleasure from all the other activities of everyday life is about the industrialisation of society and the principles of capitalism.

vauxhall pleasure

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Date

2004+

Collaboration

Paul Whitty

Locations and venues

Vauxhall Cross
Tate Britain
Museum of Garden History

Media

Live event
Composition
Broadsheet
Performance
Website

Funders

Parabola
Arts Council England
Cross River Partnership

Links

Publications

broadsheet
Tempered Ground catalogue

artists

Anna Best and Paul Whitty

http://www.vauxhallpleasure.org.uk

Project partners

Danielle Arnaud - Parabola
Catherine Wood, Tate Live - Tate Britain
Dr Roy Colvile - Imperial College (DAPPLE Dispersion of Air Pollution & Penetration into the Local Environment Consortium Research Project)

Production team

Siobhan Wootton LAND
Sara Watkins LAND
Ben Tomlinson LAND
Charlie Tweed LAND

Video production

Simon Steven & Andrea Crociani
Magz Hall - sound

Audio recordings

Seth Brignell
David Chin
Ingrid Plum
Michael Wright
Adrian Shaw

Broadsheet

Amy Plant - design and editing
Anna Best - research and editing
Ella Gibbs - design advice

Catering

Kamila - Bonnington Square Café

Rehearsal

Wilma Roest, St. Peter's Church

PR

Theresa Simon PR

Website

Pete Edwards - e-2

Tate Late performers

Cheryl Enever / soprano
Catherine Laws / harpsichord
Helen Godbolt / cello
Caroline Welsh / flute
Emma Welton / violin
Paul Whitty / electronics

Singers at Vauxhall Cross

Nicholas Merryweather
Juliet Prew
Ross Parfitt
Elena Klaudis
Ben Cooper
Graham Titus
Adey Grummet
Paul Sheehan
John Milne
Imogen Mitchell
Francesca Best
Madelaine Holmes
Cecilia Wee
Joanna Gamble
Jon English
malcolm Banham
Viv Corringham
Angela Henkel
Doro Wing
Lorna Perry
Melanie Lodge
Mark Seberton
Alexander Poulton
Juliet Wood
Micaela Leon
Jonathan Williams

Advisors

Mary Acland Hood - Vision For Vauxhall
Adam Coffman - CTC working for cycling
David Gryn - artprojx
Terry Horner - PFA Consulting
Siraj Ishar - xyzlondon
John Jordan - broadsheet concept
Live Art Development Agency
Jonathan Meares - Lambeth Council Area Parks Officer
James Marriot - Platform
Peter Nicholson - Transport for London
Kathy Preece - The Kennington Association
Naomi Siderfin - Beaconsfield Contemporary Art

This project was a way of making ideas of the past, present and future of Vauxhall Cross collide through a performance event staged for a single day. Vauxhall Cross is on the site of the legendary Pleasure Gardens, which were renowned as a place combining pastoral beauty and fresh air with the musical entertainments, fountains, fireworks and fun of 18th century public urban culture. I worked with composer Paul Whitty who re-arranged music by Thomas Arne. Our aim was to explore the relationship between political protest and entertainment, traffic and pedestrians, pollution, breathing and song.

50 singers performed to the traffic, their singing conducted by the phases of the traffic lights, and in the evening, recordings from the Vauxhall Cross performances were accompanied by a live chamber ensemble across the river in Tate Britain . Alongside the singers, a research team from Imperial College (DAPPLE) measured the air pollution levels using a specially adapted bicycle. The website holds an archive of research material which was available during the exhibition connected with the project Tempered Ground at the Museum of Garden History. Paul and I plan to fundraise to make a film with Simon and Andrea from the 15 hours of footage.

  • Photographs
  • Audio recording of Tate performance
  • Audio recording from Resonance FM interview with Anna and Paul