All Aboard for Year of the Bus!
This Autumn, to celebrate 60 years since the creation of the original and iconic Routemaster Bus, up to sixty New Routemaster bus sculptures, created by established and up and coming artists, will hit the streets of London.
Sophie Green, a freelance artist and illustrator based in Liverpool, has produced three Bus Sculptures for the Year of the Bus project. Sophie has been involved in similar high profile projects producing similar artworks for the 2012 Olympics Trail and summer’s Aberdeen Wild Dolphins and The National Literacy Trust Books About Town Trails.
The Bus Sculpture Trail is part of Transport for London's celebrations to mark the Year of the Bus in partnership with London Transport Museum and the capital’s bus operators. The event will end with the bus sculptures being auctioned and proceeds being split between three charities: Kids Company, Transaid and London Transport Museum.
Leon Daniels, TfL’s Managing Director for Surface Transport, said: “ I’m delighted that this sculpture trail will see the iconic London bus transformed into multiple works of art across the city.”
Speaking from her Hanover Street art studio, Sophie explained the inspiration behind her design for Dazzler.
“My Design for Dazzler was based on dazzle camouflage developed by artist Norman Wilkinson for use on boats during WWI, the asymmetric designs obscuring the boats shape, making them more difficult to target. The Year of the Bus is commemorating the centenary of more than a thousand London buses being sent to the Western Front to play a crucial role during the First World War.
“Being a complex design much of the work was in the planning, masking large areas of the design before spray painting. Removing the masking tape to to reveal the design was as big a surprise to me as anyone, I'm extremely pleased with the results.”
Dazzler can be view at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, next to the ArcelorMittla Orbit Sculpture.
Watch the making of Dazzler and Push Once videos below...
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUVax4EgeKA]
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQzKrDUBBfo]
We are also very lucky to have one of the sculptures here! Dazzler by Sophie Green #yearofthebuspic.twitter.com/q07254ieyO
— ArcelorMittal Orbit (@AMOrbit) October 20, 2014
