Fresh Creative Co. was commissioned by Swansea Council and the Royal British Legion to paint sixteen benches commemorating the 100th anniversary of the First World War and Armistice Day
Which is commemorated every year on the 11th of November to mark the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany at Compiègne, France, for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front of World War I. The poppy flower was chosen as a symbol of remembrance, since it was the first to grow in the Northern France and Flanders battlefields at the end of World War One.
A total of Sixteen benches have been transformed into colourful and poignant reminders of WW1, featuring images of soldiers and poppies as well as lines from war poems written by local poet John Ward. The public can see and sit on the benches in boroughs around Swansea including Cwmdonkin Park, Brynmill Park, the Guildhall and at the Cenotaph.
The brief was to paint images of the iconic Unknown Soldier along with images of poppies on the benches and some local poetry to tie them all together into one work that remembers and honours those who fought.
A big thanks you to Andrew from Cyfle I Dyfu for the processing and construction on some of the benches.
PROCESS
It was great to be part of this project and We’re proud to play our part commemorating a very important piece of British history. The benches were dismantled and then sanded back. Once the benches were nice and smooth we applied an undercoat and gave them another sand. We then added two layers of primer then a base layer of enamel paint before the design could be marked up.
The individual slats were quite a challange to paint and for the design to work we had to space the bench slates out with consideration of the gaps.
Once we had finished the painting process we added a weather resistant Craft Master U.V lacquer to help keep the murals looking vibrant over time.
FINISHED PIECES
The finished pieces can be seen in boroughs around Swansea including Cwmdonkin Park, Brynmill Park, the Guildhall and at the Cenotaph.
Councillor June Burtonshaw, Swansea Council’s Armed Forces Champion said:
“While all cities will have official war memorials for the public to visit, the idea of the benches is to add to this and create lasting memorials across the city which are also part of the environment.
“We hope they will be a talking point for young and old, where children can ask questions about the benches and find out more about the sacrifice made by millions of soldiers during the Great War.
“The local artists have done a fantastic job in transforming the benches, adding a little bit of colour to a dark period in our nation’s history.”
