Spectacular 'floating gallery' hot air balloon tells stories of Thamesmead residents
Tap above to watch video report by Anna Geary
A vibrant corner of London is being celebrated in spectacular fashion with a 25 metre high artwork plastered across a hot air balloon telling the stories of people who live there.
Artists Neil Musson and Jono Retallick turned the experiences of 200 Thamesmead residents into an eye-catching floating gallery beautifully displayed on a hot air balloon.
The project, organised by Peabody and called 'Fields of EveryWhen', took off for the first of five flights on Monday.
"It's an aspirational piece and sends up a signal and reflection of their own community and it celebratory in every sense and it is joyful," said artist Jono Retallick.
"It represents a genuine community.
"We have met with these guys for two years... it is a rich, diverse community, there is a traveller community here, and a string communities from eastern Europe and all over the world.
"But there are many stories about how they got here," he added.
Among the Thamesmead residents who shared their stories were Jerusha Ujanga whose tapestry was sewn by her grandmother who moved to London from Uganda and championed women's rights.
She said: "It's a way to celebrate her life so to see it fly with community embroidery is something that would have made her feel happy.
"She was a community person, she had an open door policy, so it really brought me so much joy."
'Symbol of protection'
The balloon took two years to create with the aim of capturing the diversity and global roots of residents in Thamesmead.
"We see the balloon as a symbol of protection as well," said artist Neil Musson.
"This was the most heavily protected part of London during the war by barrage balloons because the Royal Arsenal was here.
"This is why the balloon is significant for this area, it's about protection and when you've got a community that's connected - and they're connected through this project - you've got that level of protection.
"And also the first ever aerial photograph of this place was taken from a hot air balloon so the first time anyone looked down on Thamesmead was form a balloon.
"And we're now looking down Thamesmead and mapping its social landscape against its physical landscape.
"That's why it is called 'Fields of EveryWhen', the fields were created by the monks and we're filling in those fields with stories," he added.
The balloon is set to take to the skies four more times, on Saturday 20 August in Southmere Park, Saturday 10 September in Birchmere Park, Saturday 24 September in Crossways Park and Saturday 25 September in Gallions Reach Park.
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