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Guerilla projectionists have targeted Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, with a series of messages and demands shone on to the Earls Court Masterplan where the iconic Earls Court Exhibition Centre once stood.
The evocative images called on the mayor to listen to the community and to intervene in the future of the faltering joint venture between Transport for London and Capital & Counties Properties Plc (Capco).
Capco has recently disclosed that they are in talks with the Hong Kong billionaire owner of CK Asset Holdings about a deal to sell on the Earls Court Masterplan with no community input as to its future.
Iconic venue
Their main refrain was: “Bring back the beating heart of Earl’s Court for a green and transparent future”.
The projectionists demanded that “the world’s greenest venue” and “homes for all” be built on the site of the former iconic exhibition centre.
They also demanded action on air quality - “This is a wasteland, pollution is killing us” - provision of green space for children, and redress for the broken promises of the non- existent Earl’s Court “Olympic Legacy.”
S.O.S messages and black and white film clips featuring Earl’s Court’s former existence as a double Olympic venue flickered through the pouring rain. Campaigners have called the action an alternative “Sound and Light Show” in a swipe at the loss of the global music venue - with only the noise of traffic, rain and tube trains to accompany them.
Bella Hardwick said: “We want a future here that can be enjoyed by the Earl’s Court and wider community regardless of income.”
Sustainable future
Save Earl's Court Supporters Club has called on Mayor Khan to intervene in the Earls Court Masterplan so homes and employment can be generated on this complex site.
They are demanding a green, multi-purpose exhibition centre to help promote London in a post-Brexit world.
"Mayor Khan must listen", the campaigners said. "He has an opportunity to ditch the current Earl’s Court Masterplan and create a green and sustainable future for all of us."
This Author
Marianne Brooker is a commissioning editor for The Ecologist. This article is based on a press release from Save Earls Court Supporters Club.
