‘Doughnut’

Introducing the second of two commissions funded by Legacy West Midlands, as part of the series ‘Roundhouse to Chance Glassworks Art Trail’.

The focus of this commission was to co-create a public artwork in collaboration with the Civic Square team and local neighbours in the Ladywood area of Birmingham. The commission celebrates the ethos of social, political and environmental activities they undertake in the local area. 

The commission is a further innovation in my practice and combines the use of traditional mosaic techniques alongside the use of new technologies and media. It captures designs derived from workshops with local people of all ages around the theme of ‘Doughnut Economics’, an economic theory written by economist Kate Raworth and actualised by the work Civic Square undertake in the community. 

Following participatory design sessions, local residents contributed to the production of handmade mosaics within the final artwork. To contrast the ancient handmade techniques of mosaic making with another level of cutting edge technology, I collaborated with artist and designer Luke Reynolds, to create an augmented reality experience for viewers enabling this contemporary mosaic to come to life when interacted with through phones or tablets. To find out more about the project please visit my blog post.