Turf Projects' FUNGUS PRESS RESIDENCY // WHOSE CROYTOPIA?
Poster commission
2 Feb – 2 Apr 2019
At Sites Around Croydon; Turf Projects (Keeley Rd CR0 1TF), Wandle Park, Reeves Corner, Park Hill Park
Humorously reflecting on Croydon’s thirst for regeneration and the resulting rent rises, corporate land grabs, and community displacement, artist Louise Ashcroft has made a series of collages which depict the challenges that face local people at this time of change. The posters feature images found in an aspirational home furnishings catalogue from the 1970s (the height of Croydon’s first shopping and construction boom). These images are given new stories through annotations that speculatively detail the lives of various fictional characters and real public figures involved in Croydon’s current transformation – from the overseas investors and developers, to local residents and newcomers. None of the individuals depicted escape Louise’s satire, but the real subject of critique is the absurdly unequal economic system within which we are all forced to operate. Croydon’s socio-economic ecosystem is a microcosm of advanced capitalism; by mapping it, the posters make global issues relatable through local peoples’ everyday realities. Factual research comes together with playful provocations that aim to entertainingly inform passersby, prompting them to consider their own role in regeneration and question whether a luxury supermall amidst a property gold rush is the best version of Croydon we can come up with. And if, as the posters suggest, this is not utopia, then how might we change policy and protocol so that the people of Croydon benefit more fairly from the area’s growth?
Poster commission
2 Feb – 2 Apr 2019
At Sites Around Croydon; Turf Projects (Keeley Rd CR0 1TF), Wandle Park, Reeves Corner, Park Hill Park
Humorously reflecting on Croydon’s thirst for regeneration and the resulting rent rises, corporate land grabs, and community displacement, artist Louise Ashcroft has made a series of collages which depict the challenges that face local people at this time of change. The posters feature images found in an aspirational home furnishings catalogue from the 1970s (the height of Croydon’s first shopping and construction boom). These images are given new stories through annotations that speculatively detail the lives of various fictional characters and real public figures involved in Croydon’s current transformation – from the overseas investors and developers, to local residents and newcomers. None of the individuals depicted escape Louise’s satire, but the real subject of critique is the absurdly unequal economic system within which we are all forced to operate. Croydon’s socio-economic ecosystem is a microcosm of advanced capitalism; by mapping it, the posters make global issues relatable through local peoples’ everyday realities. Factual research comes together with playful provocations that aim to entertainingly inform passersby, prompting them to consider their own role in regeneration and question whether a luxury supermall amidst a property gold rush is the best version of Croydon we can come up with. And if, as the posters suggest, this is not utopia, then how might we change policy and protocol so that the people of Croydon benefit more fairly from the area’s growth?