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Planned David Bowie Memorial in Brixton Finds No Funding
A crowdfunding campaign fell short, but organizers are looking for alternative funding streams.
Amah-Rose Abrams
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An international crowdfunding campaign to build a giant red and blue lightning strike opposite London’s Brixton tube station to commemorate the memory of David Bowie has fallen short of its target. Yet, the organizers are not giving up on seeing the project built.
The crowdfunding campaign was seeking to raise £900,000 ($1.1 million) in three weeks, but only raised £50,000 ($62,555) from almost 700 donors.
Although none of the funds will be retained by the project, organizers were encouraged by the response and will continue to look for support.
The branding and graphic design company This Ain’t Rock’n’Roll is behind the gravity defying sculpture. Standing at 9 meters high, ZiggyZag emulates the iconic zig zag painted on Bowie’s face, an iconic image featured on the cover of his album Aladdin Sane.
“We are looking into other avenues at the moment,” a spokesman for This Ain’t Rock’n’Roll told artnet News on the phone. “The idea is definitely not dead.”
Meanwhile, the project—which has the support of Lambeth Council—is seeking planning permission, without which the memorial couldn’t be built, with or without funding.
The design seeks to memorialize Brixton’s most famous son by creating a huge lightning strike, with help of specialist engineering and the technical skills of people who have realized the visions of artists like Anish Kapoor.
The idea is to celebrate the London area where the “man who fell to earth” was born. If built, it will be down the road from the already beloved Aladdin Sane mural by Jimmy C, which has become site of tribute for fans from all over the world.
In the last year, there have been several official initiatives dedicated to celebrate Bowie, including his own royal postal stamp, but Lambeth council has been in talks with Bowie’s family since his death to agree on a fitting, permanent memorial of the beloved late musician.
This Ain’t Rock’n’Roll told artnet News that there would further announcements regarding the future of ZiggyZag in coming weeks.
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