East London’s 5 star luxury boutique hotel with firm roots connected to its local neighbourhood, is proud to unveil One Day Walk by Patrick Vale and Paul Davis; the second in the hotel’s year-long East London street art series, Room With A View. Following the successful July 2014 launch of the Pearly Room by Chris Price and his wife and collaborator Delisia Howard, Patrick Vale and Paul Davis’s One Day Walk provides a unique and off the wall perspective of East London.
Flavour Mag was invited down to view the hotel and new room. The hotel is huge, the informative duty-manager Vladimir Suszko walked us around the building explaining in detail it’s history as well as some of the hotels more quirky features (including a secret room!) Large hotels often feel bland and boring but whilst exploring the hotel you really appreciate the history of the building – no two areas of the hotel look or feel the same; each part is slightly different and Vladimir genuinely made the walk around the hotel feel like an adventure and the Andaz certainly oozes character.
When we arrived at the One Day Walk room we were shown the art-work by Vale and Davis. Firstly, I think the concept is great… East London has a strong artistic connection and the captivating piece means this room is like no other anywhere in the world. You will never stay in a One Day Walk room unless you are in the Andaz and this is fantastic. The hotel welcomes many businessmen during the week who I imagine stay in numerous hotels and I’m guessing that they see the same thing day in day out with regards to decor so this will certainly add to the experience.
One Day Walk was inspired by the notion of being a flâneur in the East London remit, someone who walks with a purpose only to be in tune with their immediate surroundings, considering the history and the stories that these surroundings now capture. Patrick Vale and Paul Davis’ own flâneur experience over the course of a day in London’s east side have been exclusively hand painted and illustrated in one of Andaz Liverpool Street’s guest rooms, allowing guests who stay in the hotel’s second Street Art Room, a personal insight into the artists’ musings of the area that they fondly call home.
One Day Walk documents Patrick and Paul’s nine-hour journey that starts simply with a bacon sandwich at their favourite breakfast spot, St John Bread and Wine (aptly represented by a flying pig), and then leads them to the areas most iconic monuments including Hawksmoor Church, St Paul’s Cathedral, Brick Lane, The Thames River and Columbia Road. Patrick juxtaposes through his illustrations London’s historical architecture with Paul’s observational drawings and overheard comments of what modern life is like in London’s East, exuding its creative vibe through its places and people. Through One Day Walk the artists aim to inspire its viewers to follow the path of a flâneur, if only for a day, to truly understand the soul and livelihood of the city.
Patrick Vale is best known for his work based on depicting cities and their bold architecture and most recently for his time-lapsed film, “Empire State Of Pen” — a freehand drawing of the view of Manhattan from the Empire State Building which instantly became an internet sensation. Critics have described Patrick’s work as “jaw-dropping” and “sensational.” Paul Davis is highly regarded as a worldwide artist, illustrator, author and cartoonist, whose clients include: The New Yorker, Vogue and The New York Times. He has won numerous awards and exhibits his work internationally.
Patrick Vale shared, “We are excited to be collaborating with Andaz Liverpool Street on the Room With A View project. East London is our home, a home which constantly fascinates and inspires us. It was fantastic to work with Paul on this and finding a way to make our styles work together. It is as if his people need my buildings and my buildings need his people! I have been a huge fan of Paul’s for years and his brilliant drawings and “overheards” really add some energy and “real” life to my cityscapes. If we can encourage guests to go and walk and look themselves then we are happy!”
Tim Flodin, the hotel’s General Manager said about the project “It has been a pleasure working with Patrick and Paul on this project as they are as passionate about the life and people of East London as we are at Andaz Liverpool Street. Each artist involved in the Room With A View project offers a fresh take on life in East London and we can’t wait to inspire our guests to take their own ‘one day walk’ in this fabulous neighbourhood we at Andaz call home.”
Guests can experience One Day Walk from now through July 2015 with bookings available via www.andazliverpoolstreet.com
