Contra Vision is delighted to be sponsors of Everybody Razzle Dazzle Mersey Ferry 2015. The project is a joint commission between Liverpool Biennial, 14-18 NOW: The First World War Centenary Art Commissions and Tate Liverpool. The two have commissioned one of the major figures of British pop art, Sir Peter Blake, to “bedazzle” a Mersey Ferry in partnership with Mersey travel and the National Museums Liverpool.
The ferry was launched from the iconic Pier Head building on the Liverpool waterfront in the morning of April 2; it will make a colourful addition to the Mersey for the next two years.
Contra Vision® one-way vision window film, printed by Times Square, is applied to the windows of the ferry to maintain the integrity of Sir Peter Blake’s design. By using Contra Vision, the design covers the vessel almost in its entirety while allowing passengers inside to have a clear view out of the windows. The quality material will also hold up against two years of challenging conditions.
Sir Peter’s design, entitled Everybody Razzle Dazzle will remain on the Mersey Ferry Snowdrop as it continues its commuter service as well as River Explorer and Manchester Ship Canal Cruises. It makes this the first of the recent Dazzle Ship commissions to be a working vessel. Unlike other forms of camouflage, dazzle worked not by concealing but by baffling the eye, making it difficult to estimate a target ships range, speed, and direction.
Peter Blake’s design has also been applied using Contra Vision perforated window film to the glass doors of The Pier Head ferry terminal, reflecting the design on the vessel while maintaining through vision for passengers inside the terminal.
“I have been thrilled to see two of my major interests, contemporary art and Contra Vision come together in this way,” said Roland Hill, chairman of Contra Vision. “We are used to seeing Contra Vision used for commercial purposes, to incorporate it in an art installation is fantastic.”
