Giant Slip ‘N Slide Pops Up in Bristol
Your daily commute just got a little more slippery.
Had enough of public transport? Too tired to cycle? How about cruising from A to B by waterslide? Last Sunday May 4, UK artist Luke Jerram turned every kid’s dream into an adult reality when he set up a 90-metre water slide on Park Street, Bristol. Titled Park and Slide, the project playfully suggested new ways of navigating our clogged up city streets — part of the Bristol Art Weekender and Make Sundays Special programmes.
A whopping 96, 573 individuals registered for a ‘ticket to slide’, but only 360 got lucky. Showing good sportsmanship and a furious need to Instagram, a crowd of over 65,000 locals turned out to watch the fortunate make their soapy descents. Based on video footage, average speed was calculated at 18km/hr and the age of sliders varied from 5 to 73.
“This massive urban slide transforms the street and asks people to take a fresh look at the potential of their city and the possibilities for transformation,” reads Jerram’s site. “Imagine if there were permanent slides right across cities.”
Jerram was offered significant corporate sponsorship for Park and Slide, but rejected it, deciding instead to stick with local support networks. "[It] was not an opportunity to advertise fizzy drinks, swimming trunks or holidays to anyone," the artist pointed out on his site.
Unfortunately, there are no plans for an international tour of Park and Slide. But Jerram will soon be publicly posting instructions, enabling communities around the world to DIY 'urban slide'. For updates, you can follow him on Twitter.
Via Inhabitat. Images by Colin Rayner and Luke Jerram.
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