Floor mural makes a bold statement with PPG’s JOHNSTONE’S® Trade coatings
The Client: The Alexandra Palace Charitable Trust, London UK
Artists: Art+Believe
The Project
Built in 1875, the Alexandra Palace is one of North London’s most iconic and jaw dropping pieces of architecture. Open to the public, it contains a concert hall, a museum, lecture hall, art galleries, library, banqueting room and a large theatre.
The Grade II-listed palace had undergone an extensive refurbishment program on its East Wing, and as part of this restoration project the Alexandra Palace Charitable Trust commissioned Art+Believe Brighton based graphic artists, to create a creative piece of artwork to revive the concrete areas of the new East Court Floor.
The Past Influencing the Present
The client and Art+Believe wanted to enhance the visual impact of the space, celebrate and encourage an appreciation of the Victorian building’s heritage and architecture, whilst appealing to a contemporary audience.
With the support of PPG, the team set about designing one of the largest indoor horizontal murals in the world. Covering 1,200 square metres in the carefully restored East Court, the vibrant mural took over five weeks for the duo to paint by hand.
Art+Believe’s unique approach which incorporates horizontal, geometric design complimented the architecture and heritage of Alexander Place adding vibrancy to the historic structure.
Functional Meets Aesthetic
Johnstone’s Quick Dry Polyurethane Flortred, tinted to fourteen different bright and energetic shades, was used to transform the space. The project presented its challenges, not only because of the sheer scale of the undertaking, but also because of the pressure to deliver a piece of art that was both functional and would be an aesthetically beautiful piece of floor artwork.
The use of Johnstone’s Quick Dry Polyurethane Flortred which is fully tintable to an extensive range of colours allowed the team at Art+Believe the freedom to create the mural in fun and energizing shades which brightens up the whole space.
The product also delivers on functionality, with its quick dry properties making the best utilisation of time and its durability that will ensure this project stays looking just a good as the day it was painted for years to come.
The Result
The completed mural captures the objectives of this restoration perfectly, and gives the 1870s venue the justice it deserves and will go on to delight its thousands of visitors for years to come.
The artwork was finished on schedule and opened to the public in December 2018. In March 2019, the project was entered into and won the RIBA Conservation Award 2019.
The mural work completed by Art+Believe also led to them being a finalist at Johnstone’s 2018 Painter of the Year award where they went on to win their category of Commercial and Leisure.