A creative programme for Oxford's Park & Ride, part of Evolving City

Artist: Michael Pinsky

Adopting the role of urban planner, activist and researcher, Michael Pinsky's Routes is a project for Oxford's Water Eaton Park & Ride buses. Routes has three elements: Park and Tell, a short film shown on-board the bus fleet, Park and Putt, a participatory activity in the car park and Park and Walk, a humorous guide suggesting a leisurely stroll between Water Eaton and Pear Tree car parks.

The Park and Ride has a rhythm of its own and the buses bring thousands of people into the centre from the car parks and out again each evening. During April and May Michael undertook a programme of research on the buses to explore the Park & Ride route and its users' thoughts and ideas.

Park and Tell, a film shot from a cherry picker above Water Eaton car park, juxtaposes quotes from interviews with bus users with the choreographed movement of cars. The films can be viewed on board the bus fleet, ferrying passengers to and from the city. Park and Tell forms part of 2015: Dreams, Plans, Visions at Modern Art Oxford (9-19 June).

Park and Putt proposes idealistic uses for the Park & Ride car park which sits immediately adjacent to the north Oxford golf course. Pinsky aims to transform perceptions by creating a golfing activity in the car park. From 7pm until the following morning the Water Eaton car park is empty, leaving an area with high land values and its own transport infrastructure, redundant. The existing golf course can be accessed half a mile from the car park, with only glimpses of the picturesque countryside visible through the hedge. One associates golf with green manicured lawns and landscaped hills; the same leisure activity in a car park set in the shadow of an industrial silo will provide a dislocated illusion for visitors.

Pick up a Park and Walk leaflet on-board the Water Eaton buses which draws attention to the unexpectedly beautiful landscapes which lie between Water Eaton and Pear Tree car parks. Park and Walk illustrates two walks: a fantasy route passing through private land which cannot be accessed completely, and an actual route following public rights of way enabling glimpses of desirable countryside. Park and Walk suggests that the car parks, situated on the boundary of urban and rural landscapes, have potential to be leisure destinations in their own right taking people out of the city for pleasure as well as into the city for work.

Routes aims to change peoples' perceptions of their bus journey and encourage people to look afresh at the city. Routes will not only provide an innovative creative experience for Park & Ride passengers, but hopefully add to their enjoyment of travelling and offer a different perspective for the Oxford Bus Company, from the people who use the service.

Routes is part of the Oxford 2015 strand of Evolving City and will be on display until 18 June.

Commissioner

Artpoint

Partners

Oxford Inspires, The Oxford Bus Company

Budget

£14,000

Funders

The Urban Cultural Fund, The Oxford Bus Company, Arts & Business New Partners

Weblink

Modern Art Oxford