If you’re in London these days, at the House of Illustration’s Summer Fair you can find a very interesting installation based on a Saab car! “Darktown Taxi” is an installation by acclaimed artist Jonny Hannah, commissioned by Heart Agency and first exhibited at Yorkshire Sculpture Park. It’s now parked up outside House of Illustration; come and see it for free.
Jonny created the mysterious coastal town “Darktown”, inhabited by folk legends, jazz artistes and tattooed sailors, as a focus for his illustration and print making.
Darktown is a seaside peninsula where Slim Gaillard owns the mighty secondhand emporium McVouty’s and you can get a great cup of coffee at the Mermaid Cafe, which also has the best jukebox in town.
The Darktown Turbo Taxi was originally designed to take fares up and down Darktown’s Main Street, an artwork created as a response to the lack of individuality on the modern UK high street. The taxi is on display at Granary Square, outside the House of Illustration. See if from June 3rd to August 31st 2018.
Here’s what the artist says about this artwork:
“And I’ve made several attempts to bring it to life for others. For my exhibition at Yorkshire Sculpture Park; Main Street, I created three shops, including Brel’s Record bar (inspired by my many hours spent in Dunfermline’s Europa Music all those years ago). And last summer saw me customise (or is it vandalise?) a Saab 9-3, to create my very own Darktown Turbo Taxi, often seen driven around the rues and lanes by the Queen of Darktown (people often double up on their jobs there, just like in Bill Forsyth’s Local Hero). “
Darktown Turbo Taxi is by artist Jonny Hannah, the Saab 9-3 was customised by Hannah in his studio & acts as a mobile advert for the emporiums & establishments that can be found in Darktown, a mythical hinterland created by the artist as a response to the lack of individuality on the modern uk high street.
