“Spanning the Tide” (Teddington Lock Footbridge), Daniel Headey writer , Steve McCallum creative partner
I’ve been raised on the logic of the ‘pigeon nose’, meaning if you’re lost, you’ll always find your way back home. Instinct kicks in and you get back to where you need to be. My nose leads me to the sea. Or really any large body of water will do.
In London, the Thames calls to my pigeon nose. The loops of the banks, the pooling tides, the gap between one side and the next. I love its command of the city. Each tree in London feels expressly permitted by city planning, cemented down from the base of the trunk, condensed. But the Thames holds its own unyielding power. It moves, it sweeps, and the city presses to its edges.
Lining its banks, marking hatches between each water’s edge, sit 26 bridges. Each one springs from different patronage and purpose, spinning fame or standing stoically to the quieter edges of the city. At their roots they’re all as one.
The river binds the bridges together. They witness the same passings of water beneath them, each footbridge, each lock, each traffic brimmed crossing.
As celebration of these crossings, 26 is currently in the middle of publishing a series of artworks and writings inspired by each bridge. 26 posts, uploaded each day of this year’s Bloomsbury Festival to create a rich tapestry of interdisciplinary works that span the 27 miles of the London Thames.
The website is an online gallery, each post adding a new distance to the path the water takes. Beginning on 18 September with Hampton Court Bridge, the river’s flow passes under the red brick and white stone arches, captured by artist Thomas Heitler in foamex (left/above) and in writing by Joan Lennon. As days roll on, we cross under Portland stone, cast iron and steel, red brick and pressed concrete, always with the grey waters pushing below.
The marking of the water spills from one piece to the next. Works like NB Studio and Nick Carson’s mirror for Millennium bridge reflect the rippling of the tide, paralleled in Ed and Andy Kluz’s film for Lambeth Bridge. They leap to each other across the webpage, abstracting into patterns in Lisa Andrews’ handbound book for Chiswick bridge.
A particular favourite of mine is Amanda Benstead’s textile thread piece for Richmond bridge (right/above). Each line of thread swells to the next, as the tide moves beneath its bridge, and the tones celebrate the layers of rock deep within the structure itself.
The various bridges and the constant Thames bring warmth to the maze of London. They draw the seams of the city together, and the brilliance of 26 Bridges’ writing and artwork reflects this.
Each artwork made for the 26 Bridges project is up for auction, raising funds for a cancer specialist nurse at UCLH. The livestream of the auction takes place on the evening of Thursday 16 October, so don’t forget to have a look and place a bid for one of these beautiful pieces! It’s for a good cause and a there are many brilliant artworks up for sale.
Some of the artists and writers will also be featured in this year’s Wordstock, taking place on Saturday 18 October. There will be talks, performance poetry, and some new artwork too. If you’re interested in attending, you can buy your tickets here.
– Joni Brown