THROUGH KALEIDOSCOPE EYES was commissioned by Tideway for King George’s Park, Wandsworth, as part of the wider Thames Tideway Tunnel project.

The resulting 24-metre-long printed hoarding presents a continuous sequence of collage and geometric forms responding to the ecology, landscape and local stories associated with the park.

The project was developed collaboratively, with artist Emily Tracy leading the participatory programme and Tom Pearman creating and arranging the final digital artwork and designing the geometric kaleidoscope forms.

Community collaboration

The artwork grew from a public programme of events held in November 2017 and managed by Emily Tracy.

Local residents were invited to create collages, contribute ideas and share reflections and stories about King George’s Park. The programme also included opportunities to engage with a local beekeeper, the Wandle Trust and The Garden Classroom, bringing together different perspectives on the ecology and environment of the park.

The resulting imagery became source material for the final hoarding artwork.

Kaleidoscope forms

Tom developed a series of brightly coloured geometric forms inspired by the geometry and optical structure of kaleidoscopes.

These forms are interspersed between the more intricate community-generated collages, creating a visual rhythm across the 24-metre length of the work and providing a strong graphic framework for the composition.

The contrast between the kaleidoscope geometry and the layered collage imagery creates a sequence that moves between abstraction and recognisable references to the natural environment.

A journey through the park

The artwork was conceived as a visual journey through King George’s Park.

The collages move from the southern end of the park, alongside the River Wandle, towards the northern entrance before making a final conceptual leap downstream towards the River Thames — echoing the route and wider context of Tideway’s new sewer infrastructure.

As Emily Tracy described:

“Look carefully, and the collages will take you on a journey from the south end of the park, meandering alongside the River Wandle, to the northern entrance, and then take one quick leap downstream to The Thames, much as the new sewer pipe will.”

Public artwork

Printed onto Di-bond panels, the completed artwork formed a large temporary public frontage to the Tideway construction site.

Installed for approximately two years, the hoarding transformed a functional construction boundary into a continuous artwork reflecting the ecology, communities and landscape of King George’s Park.