Whilst thinking about the significance of my aluminium can work and it’s indexical link to Newham and specifically the district of Silvertown I decided to do a little more research into the area and was delighted with a musical connection.
I discovered that in 2000, Mark Knopfler, of Dire Straits fame wrote a song called ‘Silvertown Blues’ which is all about the re-generation of Silvertown. There are references to the building of the Millennium Dome, the circle of cranes, the flights out of City Airport, the buildings of Canary Wharf and even a mention of Caning Town [sic]. Full of compounded meanings, for me there is a real sadness to the song. The cranes stand high and a big silver dome rises up into the dawn, it suggests a new beginning – it talks of silver and gold, of precious metals, but that things are going down in Silvertown. I am drawn to the ‘men with no dreams around a fire in a drum, Scrap metal schemes rusted over and done’ of citizens’ advice telling people where they can turn, where they can go. I still recognise these elements of Silvertown today.
I have only lived in Silvertown for 3 years and admit I am part of the problem, I live in a lovely new development and comment on those around me who have been displaced – I am hypocritical! We bought our property off plan over 8 years ago and during our monthly visits to the area as the property was being built we travelled on the DLR from Central London to Pontoon Dock. We could see the ‘transformation’ of the area – of every bit of land being filled in with new developments – the scrap yards making way for more tower blocks, the fish factory that refused to sell to the developers being squeezed out, the run down areas where people took shelter being landscaped, with little consideration for how it was affecting the existing communities. Every time I take a taxi, the drivers tell me how much the area has changed, locals talk of parties at the Tate and Lyle factory, of the Docks, of communities getting together, of simpler times, of working class families and it makes me think that all that glistens is not necessarily gold, or even silver!
I cannot begin to explain how much I relate to this song and to living in Silvertown. It is soulful, it is meaningful – it is as true today as it was 21 years ago when it was written. I feel that whilst Mark Knopfler tracks the socio economic changes taking place in Silvertown through words and music I am doing the same, but through the found object and the traces of human existence they contain, individually and as a whole. In fact, last year I visited an exhibition at London Mithraeum, of ‘London Jukebox’ by Susan Hiller, who uses songs from the 1970’s and links them to places within London to create a historical narrative through music, where each song is geographically linked on the the map on the wall. This is what I wrote:
‘I could relate this to my own work in terms of relating objects to a sense of place – starting with Newham. I could even include a musical backdrop and a slide show, make it more immersive. The narrative in Hiller’s work is embedded in the music, in my work the narrative is embedded in the found object. It would be interesting to show paradigm shifts – from Docks to redevelopment. I need to think of all the things that make up a place – objects, music and how I can use these things to create a narrative – about the place and of the place.’
Having forgotten all about this, isn’t it funny how everything seems to slot into place and make sense on so many levels. Perhaps given my own space, I would have ‘Silvertown Blues’ playing in the background, or post Covid, on headphones linked to the work, there are, as ever, so many possibilities, but for now, enjoy the YouTube video above.