YMCA Timeline was commissioned by YMCA Club following my YMCA Graffiti project from the previous year. The artwork acted as an informative board on the refurbishment work taking place at the time. It also provided a timeline of the history of YMCA Club and their future aims.
I portrayed the chart in the shape of a tree, to give a sense of growth. Close to the roots, I represented the old YMCA triangular logo, including their values of body, mind and spirit.
The club’s history appeared on the tree trunk combining text with drawings and collage of photos from the Club’s archive. The branches were full of characters and scenes that evoque the Club’s future aims and healthy motto.
YMCA Timeline was informative while providing a sense of discovery and playfulness. Its aim was to give practical information while inviting the viewer to discover YMCA Club’s vision of the gym of the future: a place where mind, body and spirit integrate.
The project involved encouraging participation from the community. Both gym members and staff were invited to take part in the work. Some got involved in the search for old photos and research, while others helped filling colours in. It was a pleasure to work with YMCA again – see previous work – and taking my work a step further by getting involved directly with the community.
