Converse's colourful Wall of Clash installation inspires art students to paint London for the #SneakersClash battles
Following in the footsteps of the recent Wall of Clash project – an installation by local street artists on two huge walls at The Old Vinyl Factory (former record-pressing plant of EMI in Hayes, London), Converse and Dazed have teamed up again to bring a splash of colour to London's grey streets. Just in time for Summer and the launch of Converse's new All Star Chuck '70 sneaker collection the SNEAKERS CLASH invited teams of art student finalists to compete in colour.
Taking over three sets of walls across London, the art collectives were given free reign to paint the town. The 'walls of clash' were then judged for their originality, execution and use of colour. And just to keep standards high they were also marked on professional logistics including team work, communication and planning.
Each week Dazed along with a panel of judges selected a winner from the battling painters. Week one saw school friends Jack, Greg and Sam join forces and combine their interests in graffiti hip hop and illustration to create a new character – three-eyed cat 'Colour Karma'. The winning design however was the subtle drips layered by product design students Troels and Rafael using thermochromatic paint that sit just nicely below the train tracks their wall sits beneath.
In week two, illustration students Jordana, Christine, Marja and Susan made a trail blazing design depicting a brightly coloured human comet falling to earth in a cloud of colour above a grey skyline. The comet is made up of two people held in an embrace; a hopeful and uplifting image dreamt up to represent the soul and the 'emotion that it conjures'.
The final week pitted Jesus, Ana, Dong and Alexandra against Beth, Holly and Jessica from various London art colleges. The first wall aimed to show the ‘power of paint’ and transform the wall into a life force covered in vivacious splashes and a parade of flamingoes that now brighten up Archway. The winning design however was from the three women who went for a more minimal design of colour dots with a close attention to complementary colours and an invitation to interact. The phosphorescent thermochromatic dots adapt to their surroundings, with colours changing to the touch and phosphorescence glowing as night draws in.
Though the real winners are the Londoners whose commutes, journeys and meanderings around the city are now ablaze with colour and creativity, courtesy of all our finalists.
The new Converse All Star Chuck ’70 collection is now available. Keep posted on the campaign with the hashtag #SNEAKERSCLASH