Paper Dreams is a wall by my alter-ego Cristina Reyes commissioned by the Print House Gallery in Dalston, East London. The commission was her first time working with the Print House, preceding her solo exhibition in their gallery space the following year.
Making Paper Dreams coincided with a huge rehabilitation of the area in preparation for the Olympics. In 2010, the East London Line was extended and a new train station, Dalston Junction, was opened. Old factories and empty spaces were demolished and refurbished, and often commercialised with new buildings.
In an indirect way, Reyes’ painting was part of this injection of change into the area. The artwork was commissioned to bring life to an empty parking space in Abbot Street that nowadays has become an area for recreation, featuring bars and businesses.
