Artists against the Airport: Beauty or the Beast?

Artists against the Thames Estuary airport. Painted Lady butterflies fly at several hundred metres when migrating. Bang slap into the planes they propose for Boris Island. No thanks.

A Thames estuary airport; Kent artists illustrate the inconvenient truths. New Art Centre, Chatham.

Alarmed by the visual propaganda generated by Foster & Partners of a Thames estuary airport, a group of nine north Kent artists (NO THAMES AIRPORT ARTISTS GROUP) have come together to cut through the spin and visualise the case against such a development in a new exhibition that opens at the Nucleus Art Gallery in Chatham on Friday 30th March. The aim of the “Beauty or the Beast” exhibition is to examine the issues visually, demonstrate how life changing a hub airport would be and also to show what we stand to lose as a community should the airport be built. Through painting, posters, photography and video the exhibition will give a snapshot of what the Thames and Medway estuary means to their communities and highlight the devastation an airport twice the size of Heathrow would have on the health and quality of life, which are issues airbrushed out of the Foster & Partners visuals. 

Artists against the Thames Estuary airport. Some of the 59 butterflies found in the UK; native, migrant and almost extinct. She has a Camberwell Beauty on her hand, named after the place in South London it was first spotted. No longer.

 

In the flight path. Thames Estuary Airport? No thanks.

 

Poster. Designed by Kevin Clarkson.
Poster. Designed by Kevin Clarkson.

 

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