Artist Adam Dant was invited to create a means of highlighting and enhancing the new city centre signage system. Since June of this year, Dant has been working on Operation Owl Club – Reading Children’s Police Force. It concerns the policing of public spaces and draws attention to Reading’s ubiquitous surveillance camera systems by the temporary addition of a human network of little watchers. Dant designed workbooks for children of all ages to fill in whilst surveying Reading’s town centre. From these completed workbooks a different approach to viewing the city has been established.
Dant has worked with Year 6 pupils from Caversham Primary School to instigate and initiate the surveillance team. On 6 July 2004 Operation Owl Club’s Surveillance Day was held with great success in Reading’s city centre with over 60 pupils participating in this human network of little watchers! From the information gathered via completed workbooks and from drawings, notes and photographs made by the surveillance team, Dant produced images of Reading showing the true observed depictions of the city.
Images of Reading’s Children’s Police Force drawn by Dant and the children of Caversham Primary School can be seen in the nineteen Explorer units currently being installed in the town centre. During November a related exhibition of drawings can be seen at Reading Library, Reading Station, Broad Street Mall, Sainsbury’s, Broad Street and 9-10 Market Place. The culmination of the project is a limited edition artist’s map, giving an alternative view of Reading and drawing together much of the research material collected during the project. This has now been published and is available from city centre sites. To receive a free copy send us your details on the contacts page. |
