New Covent Garden Market has unveiled a new citrus mural as part of a new public art initiative.
Jerusalem-born artist Eyal Granit said he wanted to evoke his childhood memories with the photographic montage, titled “Still Life Citrus”, commissioned by New Covent Garden Market Vitrine Art Commission, a new three-year public art initiative.
The initiative is funded by Vinci St. Modwen, developers of the Vauxhall site, and aims to promote the work of artists working within photography, painting, or other 2D mediums.
Granit was chosen from 70 artists, with stakeholders of the market, artists and the public picking his idea to adorn the Nine Elms lane façade of the historic market, which will remain there until October 2020.
The work was described as a reflection on the immortal nature of fruit, inspired by 16thand 17thcentury painters, using a “focus stacking technique” to portray a series of different citrus fruits displayed on a large table around crystal glasses, jars and trays.
Combining multiple imagestaken at different focus distances gives the resulting image a greater depth of field, creating this panoramic tableau outside the constraints of a single frame.
Granit said: “Citrus for me is going back to childhood. With this work I reflect on the ideas of home, belonging, memory and personal history.
“I have been passionate about photography since an early age and I am truly humbled to have received such an incredible opportunity to present my work to a global audience in London, where the public can encounter and enjoy it every day. That's where artwork and real life connect, and this connection somehow brings the work to life.”
The judging panel for the New Covent Garden Market Vitrine Art Commission 2019 was chaired byAida Esposito, Founder and Director of Creativethinking and Lead Creative Strategist for Vinci St Modwen, and comprised ofAnna Skladmann, Visual Artist;Charlotte Brooks, Art Curator, RHS Lindley Library;Lynn Parker, Collection Curator, Kew Gardens andZarina Rossheart, Director of Open Programme, Art Night. The selection process was held in consultation with representatives of VSM, Covent Garden Market Authority and market traders.
Daniel Tomkinson, Chief Executive at Covent Garden Market Authority, said: “Eyal’s artwork beautifully captures the freshness and vibrancy of the produce that New Covent Garden Market is famous for, and was a worthy winner of this year’s New Covent Garden Market Vitrine Art Commission.
“We’d like to give special thanks to Lynn Parker from Royal Botanical Gardens Kew and Charlotte Brooks from the Royal Horticultural Society for giving their time and expertise to help select this show-stopping image, which we’re delighted to display on the Flower Market’s façade.”
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