Early Spring saw me team up with Creative Director Phil Sims from Neighbour, housed down East in Batemans Row. Excited to be involved with anything to do with the Olympics, (wasn't it A-mazing) Neighbour have being creating Jamaican themed promotional artworks for Puma, official sponsors of Usain Bolt. I was unaware that Olympians aren't able to endorse their sponsors products whilst the Games are on.. fair play. Neighbours natty direction allowed us to capture London folk showing their version of the Lightening Bolt, capturing the growing Olympic spirit as the Opening Ceremony approached. Alongside a revamp of their Carnaby Street store, Puma transformed Brick Lanes Truman Brewery into 'The Puma Yard' with many a rum cocktail and even a little beach!
Outside The Puma Yard, photograph by Kate Gibb
Creatively, turning the photographs in to a series of silkscreens was pretty straight forward. The majority of the images were to be treated in the colours of the Jamaican flag, for me this was hardest task. When given a free palette I can keep on going.. but green, gold & black felt nothing short of an Olympic challenge. But it was Neighbours spin on how they used the nineteen or so lightening-bolters that really made the job special. Fly-postered around the East End, layered up over shop fronts and what seemed to be almost ingrained in to the local brick work. A simple but striking idea.
