Claire Weetman, Visual Artist
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Keep the pavement dry
Jet washed pavements
Warrington Contemporary Arts Festival

October 2013

A trail of drawings cleaned into the pavement surface using a jet washer and stencils take their inspiration from Victorian street furniture in Warrington.  A cast iron drinking fountain instructs us to 'KEEP THE PAVEMENT DRY' whilst ornate railings moderate movement around a city, separating private and public spaces, marking out the boundaries of property or preventing us from falling into basements. 

Linear elements and flowing organic styles from these Victorian designs were combined to create these drawings on the pavement that point people in certain directions around the town.  Like the railings, they moderate and influence movement, although with a gentler tone and no regard to the stern instruction to not splash water all over the place.

For more detail about this project click here

  • Detail, stencilled drawing jet washed onto the pavement in Queens Gardens, Warrington

  • Stencilled drawing jet washed onto the pavement in front of the drinking fountain, Queens Gardens, Warrington

  • Detail, stencilled drawing jet washed onto the pavement in Queens Gardens, Warrington

  • Stencilled drawing jet washed onto the pavement in Bridge Street, Warrington

  • Stencilled drawing jet washed onto the pavement in Bridge Street, Warrington

  • Stencilled drawing jet washed onto the pavement near the Golden Gates, Warrington

  • Detail of the drinking fountain canopy that bears the inscription 'Keep the Pavement Dry'

  • Photographs of railings taken by the artist and members of the public on research walks

  • Installation process: Town centre wardens jet washing through the stencil to erase dirt from the pavement.