The brief for the new KOBOX King’s Road studio was to maintain the graffiti elements, energy and movement featured in the Baker Street and London Wall establishments but mix it with an appreciation and empathy for the surrounding area and clientele.
During building works, an original blue and white ‘fleur de lis’ patterned tiled floor was found and restored in one of the downstairs rooms along with other original features.
I was inspired to merge these decorative details with the KOBOX street style/graffiti elements whilst giving a nod to the buildings history as an exclusive nightclub.
Following this direction, I created a bespoke ‘Victorian-esque’ tile pattern that became a reoccurring piece of art throughout the studio. At a distance the pattern looked like a regular tile motif, but up close boxing gloves, boxing boots, speaker symbols, water droplets and the iconic boxing speed ball came into focus.
The tile pattern was made into a stencil, cut out by hand and used on the back walls of the male and female toilets, fading out the edges and bottom areas to echo the partially exposed look of the original tiles found on the ground floor.
As a nod to the celebrity club days gone by, the same pattern was applied to the matte white walls of the marble staircase, this time using clear gloss. The final effect was decadent, textured and had a shimmering effect caused by points of light reflecting off different areas of gloss as you moved up the staircase.
Elsewhere the usual “sweat-splattered-boxing-artwork” was mixed with inspiration from old painting effects like wall glazing to give a softer ambiance. The energy, punches and drips were still there, they just sat between light layers of spray paint that gradated from blue to purple to pink to orange to red. The full vibrancy of this was highlighted under KOBOX’s signature club style UV lighting.
Areas artworked:
• The (HOT) Glove Wall
• Studio Wall
• Custom designed Boxing themed, hand-cut faux-tile pattern
• Mens and Ladies faux-tiled toilet walls
• Ladies faux-tiled changeroom ceiling
• Gloss-on-white stairway faux-tile pattern
• 19m long Entrance-to-Reception Gradient Wall