Voxtacity

Nigel Coates RA (b. 1949)

RA Collection: Art

Architectural designer Nigel Coates' RA Diploma work consists of twelve watercolours mounted together. The images all relate to Voxtacity which he describes as 'an ideas project that envisages a revival of the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens in a distinctly 21st century form'.

Coates continues, describing the various settings and structures depicted as 'a suitably ludic antidote to an increasingly commercially-driven and greedy side of London. Elements are a bricolage of everyday objects scavenged in digital form from the internet. They make a contemporary Parco dei Mostri, reinterpreting the formality of the 18th century gardens but within a modern code of ethics. This series of twelve watercolours charts a journey around the site'.

Initially known as New Spring Gardens, the site that became Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens opened in the 17th century and was in its heyday as an entertainment venue when the Royal Academy was founded in 1768. Many early Royal Academicians frequented the venue, some produced art works for it and others depicted it. Voxtacity’s 21st century reinterpretation of the site resonates with the Academy’s history and other items the RA Collection as well as raising questions regarding contemporary urban development of inner city London.

Coates states that these works are representative of his drawing style, particularly 'as applied to a speculative project'. Other speculative projects produced by Coates include ArkAlbion, Ecstacity, Battersea Gods Home and Mixtacity.

The individual watercolours are:



(Top row)

1. The overall schema with the Tryst, a knot of long paths recalling the original layout of tree-lined avenues of the 18th-century gardens.

2. The railway viaduct filters visitors as a soft entrance. A leering artwork giant figure acts as Venturi-esque signifier for the surprises to come.

3. The elevated Tryst of Paths lifts visitors slightly above the surrounding gardens, and encourages chance encounters between fellow visitors.

4. In the vein of the 18th-century prototype, a hot air balloon offers ‘flights’ above the surrounding buildings and the mutant follies that populate the park.

5. Adjacent to the open pastures, the Free-Range housing takes on affordable housing. Movable internal walls allow their configuration to be negotiated.

6. Wilder areas encourage spontaneous collective architectures. Don’t be surprised to see naked horse riding or children’s games with a new twist.

(Bottom row)

7. The Willendorf Venus Hotel prides itself on its unusually artful luxury suites. The nuptial apartment occupies an entire floor at the level of her midriff.

8. Suited to fitness fanatics, the Canoe Heights apartments are branded by the local rowing club. Outdoor bathing pools flow around them at ground level.

9. The Prada Skirt buildings are brazenly ‘unaffordable’ housing. Owners embrace the gardens as an asset. Nevertheless their ‘firearms’ lift towers are a warning.

10. The Snake Market slithers between older buildings, and services the nearby collective dining tables where local chefs perform virtuoso dishes.

11. The David Hotel and Night-park straddles the railway line. Its three ‘flowing’ floors are abstracted from a supine Michelangelo David.

12. Voxtacity as seen at night from across the Thames. Some of its key features and follies are visible above the viaduct.