Dazzle
The contemporary ‘dazzle ships’ paying tribute to the innovative First World War camouflage have become familiar to millions.
Dazzle Ship Series
Inspired by the experimental naval camouflage developed in 1917 by Norman Wilkinson, five contemporary artists transformed real-life ships in the UK and USA.
The contemporary ‘Dazzle Ships’ moored on the rivers of Liverpool, Edinburgh, London and New York have been admired by millions since the first ship was launched in 2014.
What is Dazzle?
The idea of “dazzle” - a camouflage painted on to the surface of ships - was pioneered by British artist Norman Wilkinson, who prepared numerous designs for vessels targeted by enemy U-boats.
The geometrically patterned boats would have been a familiar sight during the First World War, when hundreds of shipping convoys sailed to and from Britain’s ports.
WW1 Dazzle Ship (1918) by Surgeon Oscar Parkes14-18 NOW
Dazzle Ferry (2015) by Mark McNulty14-18 NOW
Though the practice has largely (but not entirely) fallen out of fashion in the military, ‘dazzle’ remains a source of inspiration to artists today.
Tobias Rehberger Dazzle Ship London
31 July 2014 – End of 2015
Dazzle Ship London by Tobias Rehberger. A time lapse film of the installation by David Kew.14-18 NOW
HMS President (1918) is one of only three surviving Royal Navy warships from the First World War.
This eye-catching vessel reminds Londoners and visitors of the crucial role ships played in the country’s wartime survival.
Dazzle Ship London by Tobias Rehberger. A film by David Kew.14-18 NOW
Carols Cruz-Diez Dazzle Ship Liverpool
12 June 2014 – 1 December 2015
Carlos Cruz-Diez is one of the great figures of contemporary art, famous for his use of light, colour and movement in kinetic and optical art.
Dazzle Ferry (2015) by Mark McNulty14-18 NOW
14-18 NOW and Tate Liverpool co-commissioned one of the major figures of British pop art, Sir Peter Blake, to ‘dazzle’ a Mersey Ferry in partnership with Mersey travel and National Museums Liverpool.
Dazzle Ferry (2015) by Mark McNulty14-18 NOW
Dazzle Ferry (2015) by Mark McNulty14-18 NOW
The ferry was the first of the Dazzle Ship commissions to be a working vessel.
Ciara Phillips Dazzle Ship Scotland
25 May 2016 – 31 January 2017
Dazzle Ship Scotland by Ciara Phillips14-18 NOW
The fourth ship in the Dazzle Ship Series, titled Every Woman, by the Turner Prize-nominated artist Ciara Phillips.
Tauba Auerbach Dazzle Ship New York
1 July 2018 – 12 May 2019
Dazzle Ship Series: Flow Separation by Tauba Auerbach14-18 NOW
The artist transformed a decommissioned fireboat into a floating artwork.
Auerbach’s dazzle incorporates the movement and behaviour of water into its design.
The Creative Studio at the V&A was “dazzled” throughout the nine days of London Design Festival by design studio Pentagram.
LDF-Dazzle (2018) by Andy Stagg14-18 NOW
Pentagram’s design abstracted the letterforms and words of the Wilfrid Wilson Gibson poem “Suspense” as its source.
Dazzle Ship series co-commissioned with Liverpool Biennial.
Supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies.
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