- #pennydrops
Since 2015, we have been leaving hand-painted, pre-decimal pennies on the street as tiny pieces of street art.
These began as calling cards – we initially painted fake expansions of our QbA initials (such as Quite Bloody Angry) and stuck them with blu-tac to walls in East London. Sometimes we'd put location clues on social media. Sometimes we wouldn't.
Since then, our elusive pennydrops have appeared around the world – thought-provoking little interruptions to peoples' days.
'Do not pick me up', stamped 1967 penny, Devon 2024.
'What Do You Think Of The Show So Far?', winner of Frontpage/Backpage/Centrefold award, a publication of artists in Devon & Cornwall for the British Art Show 2023.
'How Did We Get Here?' placed in a location covered by the tide twice a day, 2022.
'Initial' pennies 2015-20
For five years, we left pre-decimal pennies on the street for people to find as our calling-card. These had a hand painted alternative expansion of our QbA initials (topical or irreverent) over the monarch's head. Whilst these were left all over the world, most activity was centred on East London.
Below is small selection.- Small Change 2020In 2020 we left some unsigned old pennies with a painted message (could be encouraging, could be challenging) in a vending machine of some description. You can see a couple of short films of these here and here.An anonymous intervention in the transactional contract between machine and human. Or, making a #smallchange to someone’s small change.
- Back & Fill 2020
Back & Fill is a national campaign created by artist Dan Thompson and designer Kate Kneale, set up as a response to the economic damage done to seaside towns by the coronavirus crisis. It set out to lure people back to the seaside over the 2020 October half term. We painted a penny and set up a treasure hunt. There's a nice article about the project in The Guardian here.
We painted an old penny with enamel paint and added 23ct gold leaf.
The wording is a quote we overheard. Pertinent, we thought, as it was the arrival of package holidays that ended the golden age of the British seaside. Perhaps now, with staycations and Brexit, there is a better future for Westward Ho!
The penny was hidden in Westward Ho! Devon on Friday 30th October 2020. To be found by following clues in local independent shops and cafes...
...And was found 45 minutes later. Top hunting!
Paste-ups 2018-
Pennies, only bigger and floppier.
