Off-site Project
Birmingham and Fazeley Canal Towpath behind Bank Restaurant, Brindleyplace
Free boat trips on the hour: Tuesday - Sunday, 1pm- 4pm
Booking recommended – please phone Ikon for details 0121 248 0708
Simon & Tom Bloor have worked together since 2003. Using a range of media they explore aspects of architecture, design and popular culture, especially in the light of obscure histories and flawed idealism. For this project the Bloors adopt geodesic design, a method of construction popularised in the 1950s by visionary thinker Buckminster Fuller, as a fast and efficient – if imperfect – way of creating any curved, enclosed space.
Their geodesic canopy for a working canal boat provides shelter for visitors who can travel along Birmingham’s historic waterways while browsing an onboard library of utopian design. In reference to another remarkable moment of design history, the artists have painted the exterior of the canopy with their interpretation of dazzle camouflage, a type of graphic patterning devised by war artists for naval ships as a means of confusing the enemy. Known as ‘Razzle Dazzle’ during the First World War its success was limited, as was that of Fuller’s geodesic domes.The boat, symbolising a means of escape, takes its title Hey for Lubberland! from a 17th century English ballad about the New World, mistaken for utopia, but in fact a kind of fool’s paradise.
The boat transports passengers around Brindleyplace, and is open Tuesday – Sunday, 1–5pm, admission free. Children must be accompanied
by an adult at all times. On 12 August, Simon & Tom Bloor also take part in These are a few of my favourite things, Ikon’s free late night talks.
Free family activities:
Saturday 1 August, 2-5pm
Saturday 12 September, 2-5pm
Supersonic Festival
24–26 July
As part of the Supersonic Festival Simon & Tom Bloor’s boat will be moored near Ikon Eastside at The Bond, 180-182 Fazeley Street. Visitors can make short journeys, accompanied by soundtracks selected by artists performing at the Festival. www.supersonicfestival.com
There will be a launch for Hey for Lubberland! on Friday 24 July, 7-9pm.
Also on 24 July: Exhibition opening at Ikon Eastside for Raqs Media Collective (7-9pm, 183 Fazeley Street)
Simon & Tom Bloor’s Hey for Lubberland! is supported by British Waterways.