The Serco Prize for Illustration Review
Last night was the Private View of the Serco Prize for Illustration at The London Transport Museum in partnership with The Association of Illustrators. The wine flowed and the canapes were plentiful. Was the work any good? The answer is a resounding yes.
The task for the entrants was simple: hopeful entries should feature the river as a central feature of London and London life. The idea: to create an illustration that draws attention to the benefits of the river with the top 50 being exhibited at the London Transport Museum. The top three win a monetary award, and the number one entry will be used as a poster for TFL branding across the capital. If that’s not something to aim for, I don’t know what is.
I was very excited to be exhibiting this year. The museum is one of my favourites in London. Not just because I like to sit in the bygone tube carriages and pretend i’m an old Victorian lady (I only do this occasionally) but I love seeing the old signage and beautiful posters. They also have an impressive collection of vintage trams and buses on display, all in all this makes for a delightful place to exhibit. I didn’t make the cut last year with my ‘Bike route from Bermondsey to Camden’. I was disappointed but it’s my opinion, working in the creative sector, that these setbacks are essential for making you work harder and want it more. The turnout was fantastic last night, and the work was even better.
I’m delighted that Anne Wilson’s ‘Winding through the City’ won Gold this year. The colours are beautiful, and it’s the kind of illustration you can really visualise on the tube and at bus stops. The second place went to Melvyn Evans with his ‘Thames People and Tides’. The delight of this piece of work are the figures which he’s drawn into this scene going about their business. Juggling on the embankment or dancing together in the Globe theatre. There’s a lovely whimsical quality about it, and an entry which I could definitely visualise as TFL signage. The Bronze went to Liz Rowland for her ‘London Banquet’ and while it’s not my favourite in the exhibition, the concept is very charming, and it certainly fulfils the brief.
The highlights of the exhibition for me this year was certainly Abigail Daker’s ‘So Much to See’ which is certainly that. The colours are so rich, I could look at it for hours. Also the ridiculously accomplished work by Emily Wallis entitled ‘Reflect on London’. Drawn with a 0.1 Rotary pen it’s visually stunning, and another which I could peer at for days.
Very kindly the London Transport Museum have awarded all 50 entrants a year’s free unlimited access to the Museum. So in theory, I could stare at it for hours. Or sit on an old tube carriage pretending to be old Victorian lady for a year. Both sound quite tempting.
The verdict on the exhibition? Go.
The exhibition runs from 10 May – 3 June 2011 at the London Transport Museum, Covent Garden.
