Rocklands, Caffy St Luce reflects on her New Cross intervention.
Having officially been a Love Pirate at Rocklands (multi tasking with live music promotion alternative at core) for a decade now, I am still always excited as to where this career will take me next. I was honoured and scared to be asked to be involved in something so globally involving and positive as Silent Cacophony. The creative talents and ideas were awesome. This summer, I had been touched by a plaque in Fordham Park, about the 168 killed and 121 injured in November 1944. A V2 rocket exploded on New Cross Road at the corner of Goodwood Road busy with shoppers. In modern times this has not only been the location of Moonbow Jakes, where the 'Share The Joy' story of Rocklands was born but also now of New X Learning, the people's library, who were another wonderful part of the day. So Silent Cacophony felt like the best way to both pay respect while looking forward with hope. I hand painted 168 sunflowers, one for each life lost. The magic lady that is Dizzy Spell helped in the quest for them to fall onto the New Cross Road in part expressing the bombs that devastated the area. I felt something sentimental well up as we did it. When you really have to think of what it must have been like, people were as unprepared for what followed, the eerie silence, as we would be if there had been a repeat occurrence today. With hope in mind, I like to think the love that went into the paintings that fell on Monday 11.11.13 will live on through the sunflowers that bring subliminal joy, as well as bees, to this part of London.
You can read more on this V2 attack in New Cross [here]
Many thanks to John at Platform-7 and all at NX Library Caffy St Luce, Rocklands, South London Tourist Board.