Hindu Unity Day

This month we took the Cameravan down to the Hindu Unity day in Shoeburyness. This is the Ganesh Visarjan day and is the biggest Hindu Festival in the UK. Here are some images.

The Lord Ganesha

Visitors to the festival and the Cameravan.

Image of the festival from inside van - projected from the lens onto white card.

Next adventures for the Camaravan

For the chance to see the cameravan in Southend Carnival just pop along to Southend Seafront on Saturday 18 August from 7pm.

Or if you would like join us for the Ganesh Festival when photographer Elina Jokipii will meeting and interviewing visitors to the festival, come to East Beach in Shoeburyness from 10am on 16 September. You could always enjoy the experience of the biggest Hindu festival in the UK too.

See you there!

Leigh Art Trail

During Leigh Art Trail we took the Cameravan out and spent the day at Leigh Library Gardens enthtralling shoppers, art lovers and those just using the park.

Setting up in the morning.

The crowds await.

At Southend Library

The lens being assembled.

Graphics added

With sponsorship from John Parker, we were able to have some expensive chrome vinyl applied to the Cameravan. The chrome vinyl was very much in keeping with the whole ethos of the Cameravan and what it does.

finishing touches and first press appearance

Volunteers and staff work hard to put on finishing touches and get interviewed by the press in the process!... see the video here... http://www.echonews.co.uk/news/echovideo

first outing!

Even before the Cameravan was finished we were eager to unleash it on the public. So on 15th April it had it's first trip out to view through it's periscopic lens the newly unveiled Art U Need public art project in Southend - 'Streams'.
The touring group visiting all the Art U Need projects in the Thames Gateway took turns in viewing the 'Streams' and it's surrounding environment projected into the Cameravan.

...before

Cameravan logo

inside window re-repair

mobile camera obscura view from inside window .

Cameravan Update

Focal Point Gallery are very pleased to announce the arrival of the Cameravan. A quirky camera obscura that from the outside appears to be a brightly coloured 1970s Sprite caravan but when you step inside all goes dark and you can enjoy a peculiar voyeuristic view of the outside world. Anyone entering the Cameravan will be able to control a 360 degree periscopic lens looking out on the world. People say its magical!

The Cameravan was donated to Focal Point Gallery in January this year by Bedford Creative Arts. It had not been used in a while and was in need of a little TLC, but it is now being lovingly restored by a group of enthusiastic volunteers. Thanks to a generous donation from Dulux Paints it is currently midway through a transformation from its original vibrant pink to a futuristic silver and will soon be out on the road again!