The Stratford Grapevine

In the lead up to the 2012 Games, Art on the Underground are delivering a series of contemporary art commissions in Stratford that have individuals and communities at their heart.

Lucy Harrison was commissioned to produce a new project for 2008. Lucy Harrison’s work often takes her to unusual places. Her previous works include establishing a walking club and being an artist in residence at a former asylum in Italy. Her latest project brought her to Stratford station to develop a new artwork for Art on the Underground.

Harrison could be described as a creator of social networks which are made apparent in the form of publications or events. The Stratford Grapevine is a newspaper with just such an agenda. In her quest for content, Harrison mined the social networks of Stratford station and the town it serves; meeting a range of people from football teams, flower sellers and gardeners, to station staff and passengers.

Each issue has been influenced by specific groups selected by the artist. The subsequent publications are chapters in the life of the station and the surrounding town seen through the eyes of some of its inhabitants at a time of immense change. The structure of The Stratford Grapevine provides a net in which to capture the most significant and insignificant details of life in the area during early stages of the 2012 development.