Palace Gates - our platform to the pastArtist - TAG. Installed September 2013

Some of our larger TAG installation pieces have arrived via a journey. And our Palace Gates project is no exception. It has been a six to seven month process; now completed at the end of September 2013.

These last few days saw the various paper stencils, cut to form the multitude of compositional elements to our tableau, taped, trimmed and sprayed; with reel after reel of masking tape applied as both concealment and support.

With the process comes that natural sense of theatre. As artist your stage is set. Your audience a continual passage of street life, moving through the vista to which you turn your back. And as ever, the many and varied citizens of this pocket of north London, have an unbelievable appreciation of what we are trying to achieve. The countless passing expressions of gratitude are heartwarming - "Thank you for making Turnpike Lane nice!" just one example; a tiny bouquet of hand-picked flowers another.

All artwork, text and images © Turnpike Art Group 2022.

TAG Çiçek KutusuArtist - TAG/Esra. Installed August 2013

Never underestimate the power of flowers. And their inherent ability to open new doors and opportunities.

Only recently TAG were applying the finishing touches to our Chinese Centre artwork, with a petal-painting initiative designed to engage passer-by with ownership of the art in their streets, when we discovered a hugely talented artist living only a few hundred yards from the hub. After receiving some sample artworks, a date was set to work with Esra Duzen, on our very first collaborative installation - a TAG Çiçek Kutusu.

All artwork, text and images © Turnpike Art Group 2022.

Palace Gates project open to funding

Palace Gates Project now open for funding https://t.co/GoWO0FWg68 via @spacehive

— Bailey Straffon (@TurnpikeArt) August 1, 2013

All artwork, text and images © Turnpike Art Group 2022.

Waldeck flower beds get some TLC

All artwork, text and images © Turnpike Art Group 2022.

New Flower Box - Langham RoadArtist - TAG. Installed May 2013

All artwork, text and images © Turnpike Art Group 2022.

Flowers in MayArtist - TAG. Installed May 2013

The latest planting of a TAG Flower Box took place yesterday, with a little additional help. Visiting from Brixton, a certain Sylvia was more than keen to take up the spray can, and go green on some of the front face artwork.

Lastly, we turned to young Gabriel who lives nearby, to finish the spray painting. Gabriel was coincidentally celebrating his 6th Birthday. And soon got to grips with can and stencil.

All artwork, text and images © Turnpike Art Group 2022.

A night at the movies

Hampstead has The Everyman; Soho has the Curzon; Finchley its Phoenix; there's even an Aubin Cinema tucked away in Shoreditch. But what of Tottenham, and the Indie Cinema oeuvre? Enter the Haringey Independent Cinema.

Showing a melange of arthouse, and rare movies, the HIC website says:

'Ours is a group of community-orientated citizens all living in the London Borough of Haringey, screening monthly films and documentaries that are sometimes challenging, always thought-provoking and usually rarely shown. Where possible and to broaden the interest further, we will invite those associated with each production to come along and either give a talk or have a question and answer session.
The other aim of the group is to provide a space where local people can come together to see films for the first time, or to see a film again, while meeting other local people. We hope the films will lead to people who otherwise wouldn’t know each other, meeting, discussing the films and making new friendships.'

More information HERE.

Thursday 30th May
TAG have teamed up with the Tottenham Art Group to introduce new people to this local movie house. We are inviting anyone with an interest in cinema to come to a screening of the cult classic - Man with a Movie Camera. This is a silent movie, to be shown with live musical accompaniment. More details HERE. Post-movie review and idle banter to continue, in a nearby watering hole.

The event info HERE

"Man With a Movie Camera is an extraordinary piece of film-making, a montage of urban Russian life showing the people of the city at work and at play, and the machines that keep the city going. It was Vertov's first full-length film, and he used all the cinematic techniques at his disposal - dissolves, split screen, slow motion and freeze-frames - to produce a work that is exhilarating and intellectually brilliant."
The British Film Institute

In the 2012 Sight and Sound poll, film critics voted Man with a Movie Camera the 8th best film ever made.

All artwork, text and images © Turnpike Art Group 2022.

"…and a happy time we'll have there, one and all!"

So sang Burl Ives, in the 1963 Walt Disney Production - Summer Magic.

Fast forward fifty years, and a happy time was indeed had by all, at the TAG Bug Fest.

Blessed with some unusual summer sun, our array of fourteen Haringey Recycling bins soon found themselves resplendent with a growing menagerie of luminous, multi-legged, multi-winged creepy crawlies. And with the added incentive of delicious homemade muffins and pancakes, courtesy of Kitty, there was no excuse not to pick up a Molotow marker, and contribute to the fun.

These completed artworks will form the containers for our TAG Envision Peace Roof Garden, which now moves onto its next phase, and the careful selection of plants.

Many thanks to all those who came out and made this event an enjoyable community effort. Particularly pleasing was the sight of those individuals who initially declared "I can't draw," later to be found moving on to a second container, and their third or fourth insect. The buzz was contagious.

All artwork, text and images © Turnpike Art Group 2022.

TAG Bug Fest - two bee or not two bee?

Or is it a Gnat? We've got three amazing early bugs to start the Bug Fest...

What will Sunday bring?

All artwork, text and images © Turnpike Art Group 2022.

Recycled Roof Garden - Update

We've been busy creating the base artwork for our local artists to add the final touch - at the TAG Bug Fest. Locals (off all ages) will be adding a variety of creepy crawlers to our recycled plant containers. From there, we take planning into the Garden Shop!

More to follow.

All artwork, text and images © Turnpike Art Group 2022.

TAG Envision Peace Roof Garden - a celebration of youth

[Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey]

After an interesting visit to our potential plant supplier, TAG have arrived at a suitable planting focus - the Hebe.

With around 90 species, this plant satisfies so many of the key requirements for our project:

Hardy
Pollution tolerant
Will thrive on our North-facing roof
Ideal for container gardening
Evergreen
And critically bee and butterfly friendly.

In fact, the Hebe is recommended by the RHS, and Gardeners Guild, among others, as bee-attracting.

In conjunction with our original proposal for Community First Funding (who have financed this project) our roof garden will feature a strong youth element, poetically-endorsed as Greek mythology proclaims Hebe to be the Goddess of Youth.

Work has begun modifying our stack of 'Haringey Recycles!' plastic bins. Now featuring a TAG grass cover design. And with a handful of Molotow markers arriving in the post, we're primed for next weekend's TAG Bug Fest.

All artwork, text and images © Turnpike Art Group 2022.

Shake Well

With the vestiges of a long winter finally slipping by, we have been able to make some realistic progress for projects, quite literally, kept on ice.

Having pursued the correct channels for creating any piece of urban art, particularly those involving spray paint, we were granted permission by all those concerned, and had parked the results of our rectitude, waiting for conditions to improve.

So armed with an iPhone-toting colour swatch, TAG hit the Brick Lane environs, and paid a visit to Chrome and Black - a Shoreditch shop respected as the place to buy your urban art armoury.

We were first met by the shop dog. And having passed the sniff test, then proceeded to travel the banks of battery-farm-like spray paint displays. From an artist's perspective, the sheer range, and lustre of the spray paint palette was mouth watering. Luckily any impromptu reassessment of our flower box themes was avoided, rational thinking prevailed; no fluorescent foliage in N15! A safe purchase of Montana Gold and Black occurred.

Back at HQ we just need a good day - to get busy with 'Orangina', 'Melon Yellow', 'Lilas Tendre', and 'Denim Stonewash'; among others. Then its time to Shake Well.

All artwork, text and images © Turnpike Art Group 2022.

TAG Inside Out Project

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All artwork, text and images © Turnpike Art Group 2022.

Enlightening

There's no greater thrill for an artist or designer, than seeing your sketch-phase come to life; when what was once a scribble or notation on paper, takes a tangible form, en route to project completion.

Watching the surreally-conscious tracking of a laser, as it chaotically jumps and skips over a plastic sheet was just such a moment - the designs for our TAG Flower Boxes rapidly punched out of a Mylar roll with stunning accuracy.

Last Friday TAG paid a visit to Cutting Technologies in Barnsley, and spent a fascinating afternoon in the educational company of Jane Robinson. Having preceded a factory tour with a visit to the Enlightened Exhibition, it soon became apparent that what was once considered a purely industrial tool, has a very real place to play in the fine art arena.

Think of the reaction Warhol and his cohorts attracted, when they began to screen print directly onto canvas. This avant-garde mark-making process held much resistance. Yet is now commonplace, albeit usurped by digital advancement. To that end, one might see a time when working with lasers becomes commonplace. Viewing the variety, and stunning subtly, of image-making via this tool was indeed a real eye opener. Many beautiful examples were shown.

Heading back to London, with a roll of laser-cut flora under one arm, we get the feeling TAG and Cut Tec may cross paths again soon.

All artwork, text and images © Turnpike Art Group 2022.

Inside Out Project - Update

TAG are proud to announce that our Inside Project - Free to Play - has been endorsed by
London Play and Fair Play for Children

Our photoshoot will take place on March 23rd, in the Community Hub, Langham Road, at 11am.


View Larger Map

All artwork, text and images © Turnpike Art Group 2022.

The Cutting Edge

Notwithstanding the pun, when we decided to seek out a quality solution for our Flower Box project, it seemed logical to approach the cutting edge for our stencil requirements.

And so it is with much pride that we are able to announce Cutting Technologies, Laser Cutting & Engraving Services as a sponsor for Flower Boxes.

They have generously agreed to supply gratis stencil cutting and supply for the necessary designs that will realise our Flower Box project. For this we must thank Jane Robinson at Cut Tec.

All going well, we will be advancing this over the next few weeks.

An interesting further development - Changify have approached TAG to introduce our Flower Boxes to the Camberwell Art Fair, and the Shoreditch Digital Festival, both occurring this summer. More as it develops.

All artwork, text and images © Turnpike Art Group 2022.