Pattern therapy with Jacqueline Poncelet
The Weekly Wall | #015 | Wrapper by Jacqueline Poncelet
Nearest Station: Edgware Road
A little-known Art on the Underground project until recent times is Jacqueline Poncelet’s ‘Wrapper’ – a building and wall of cladding next to London’s Edgware Road tube station. Completed on 20th November 2012, the work only recently received hype after being used on a TfL advertising campaign and has of course drawn pattern and colour lovers alike to its trance-like qualities. Consisting of 700 decorated panels covering 1500m2, the building actually houses part of the London Underground office.
‘Wrapper’ is a permanent work of art by Poncelet, made especially to clad the building, adding interest and a burst of colour to the North West London area. The work, created in vitreous enamel, features a number of alternative patterns knitted together much like a patchwork quilt. Each pattern relates to a different part of the local area and was made in response to the images and ideas that Poncelet developed through her research of culture and community in Edgware over three years.
‘Wrapper’ tells the story of the place in which it sits, weaving together elements from local history and the natural environment, the area’s architecture and its people. The designs evoke a different reaction in each user with memories being pulled by the intricate layers of geometry. Some easily see the references to the coloured arterial lines of the Tube map, while others associate it to the fabrics, carpets and Moorish tiles which characterise the spirit of the local area.
Poncelet has been a leading ceramicist since the 1970s and has also branched out into painting, sculpture and public art commissions. Her work is distinctive in its use of carefully composed arrangements of patterns and colours, often referencing the visual overlapping and complexity of the urban environment. What do you think? Time for some Poncelet lovin’, says I!
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