A blank canvas: PaddlUp unites automotive artists for London installation
PaddlUp has been busy working on a collaborative project with talented automotive artists and organisations. Auto Art powered by PaddlUp is a unique installation that brings the motoring world to life through the unifying medium of art.
Auto Art powered by PaddlUp
The venue
Hosting the exhibit is the ground floor of the St Botolph Building, a commercial office in Houndsditch at the heart of the UK capital’s investment and financial districts, a mere stone's throw from the world-renowned Gherkin.
The message
The overall aim of the exhibit is to bring together like-minded creative individuals from across the automotive industry in a truly one-off collaboration. The artwork itself was hand-picked to take visitors on a journey through the history of car culture, into the contemporary aesthetic of supercars and a centrepiece that highlights the refined beauty found within the elegant contours of a high-performance vehicle.
Helen Stanley
Many of the pieces were produced by renowned television presenter and automotive media personality Helen Stanley. Fans of Goblin Works Garage and Motor Pickers will instantly recognise Helen, but she is also an established and respected automotive artist.
Helen’s distinctive approach to her work has established a well-earned reputation for pop art style, with the added niche of automotive and motorsport influences. This unique blend enables her to break new artistic ground, exploring the societal influence of these industries as seen in her Addicted to Motorsport piece among others.
Abi Powell
The other artist to feature in the exhibition is Abi Powell. Over the years, Abi honed her craft developing a specialist style of photo-realistic illustrations that resemble real-world supercars. Her passion for cars and appreciation for exquisite design began at a young age and that is immediately apparent in her work - she meticulously studies every detail of her subject matter.
In stark juxtaposition to Helen’s pieces, Abi works predominantly with sketching and painting with acrylics but has been known to deviate on occasion, most notably producing pieces on carbon fibre and even her own car.
Ecurie Ecosse
To complement the range of inspired artistic pieces on offer at Auto Art powered by PaddlUp, a stunning Ecurie Ecosse LM-C is on show highlighting its sculptural bodywork midway through its build. The LM-C pays homage to the Jaguar C-types of the fifties, and who better to build the tribute car than the team who enjoyed much of the marque’s success seven decades earlier?
Hand-crafted by the skilled artisans at Ecurie Ecosse, over 1,000 hours have gone into the body in its current, bear metal form. The reasoning behind including the LM-C in the exhibit may not seem obvious at first glance, but when the elegant silhouette of the shell is appreciated in isolation, the viewer can realise the beauty of automotive design at its most stripped back.
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