Burst Pipe Dream
Have you ever noticed that people are fascinated by the movement of water and will stop and stare at geezers, fountains, and waterfalls for ages? But a burst pipe in the street is a nuisance?
It was this thought that prompted the original concept of The Burst Pipe Dream, which after years of being nurtured, finally manifested in its first appearance as part of The Burst Pipe Dream show in Brighton 2008.
Working under the guise of Big Oriental Squid inc (BOSinc) the team produced a 7 day installation built around the story that Brighton would be welcoming Europe’s first Giant Squid Farm in newly developed, Jubilee Square.
The background of the project was that the build of the site had overrun by a significant amount of time, creating a degree of animosity from locals to the site, and therefore BOSi were invited in to develop a project that launched the finish of the build, and restored the positive feelings with the site. The project was partly commissioned by Brighton & Hove City Council to take place as part of the Brighton Fringe Festival 2008.
As our projects respond to the specific characteristics and history of an area, we developed the piece to place irony on the completion of the build, by setting up fake roadworks, and installation 'Europe's first Giant Squid Farm' under the guise of the Big Oriental Squid Inc. (BOSinc.) A complete story was developed to support this fictional tale, and local press were brought on board to ensure maximum authenticity was achieved. We started the project months in advance of the 7 days on site performance, through building press interest, our fake BOSinc. website and freephone number going live, and fake planning notices being displayed around the square.
www.bigorientalsquidinc.com
As the week of performance developed, promotion of the build and the site was broadcast on local 6 o'clock news, local radio, and appeared on the front page of local papers. This really ensured that locals were talking about the project, and encouraged them to come along and engage with the site themselves. An estimated 31,000 people saw the project 11,000 more than usually pass through the square on an average week.
The whole project was incredibly successful in creating engagement with a newly developed site, and it certainly created a big 'buzz' around Brighton.
