A Brixton crowdfunding campaign to erect a memorial for David Bowie has been launched.
The campaign aims to raise just under £1m in the next month to fund the red lightning bolt installation and thousands of pounds were pledged within hours of the launch.
The design was revealed on Tuesday at the Royal Festival Hall following suggestions for a three-storey memorial to be erected in tribute to the musician who died in January 2016.
Project manager Binki Taylor, chair of Brixton Pound, a local currency designed to support local businesses, said: “Bowie was more than just a musician.
“He has given us a sense of creativity and the need to be endlessly curious and look beyond ourselves and that’s the spirit we are trying to capture.
“His legacy is more than just his music, it’s his spirit.”
The crowd funding campaign has now raised nearly £40,000, which is 4% of the total figure needed.
The design symbolises the singer’s iconic ‘Ziggy-Zag’ make-up worn on the album cover of 1973’s Aladdin Sane.
The red and blue steel piece is set to appear on Tunstall Road, opposite Brixton Underground station, and next to the Bowie mural which is still surrounded by flowers.
The late singer’s birthplace is located five streets away on Stansfield Road.
Charlie Waterhouse, the artist who designed the ‘Ziggy-Zag’, said: “It’s causing quite a stir in Brixton. We developed the idea nine months ago and it will take a minimum of six months to build.”
If the £1m target is not met by the March 21 then campaigners hope to raise the money by other, unspecified means.
Mr Waterhouse said: “If we weren’t confident of raising the money we would never have started the project. There’s an international community out there willing to help, we’ve had support from across the globe.”
The response has generally been positive but some local residents disagree with the project.
Freddie Hawke, 23, an insurance broker from Brixton said: “The character here is uniquely alternative but it’s moving towards a slightly false and gentrified vibe and the ‘Ziggy-Zag’ is slightly false and trying too hard to be alternative.”
Another resident, Jack Peck, 26, said: “I can’t help but feel that Brixton is now clinging to the Bowie bandwagon.
“Spontaneous tributes like the street party the night of his death and the mural on Tunstall Road are more authentic.”
You can donate to Crowdfunder campaign here: http://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/bowie
Photo courtesy of This Ain’t Rock’n’Roll
