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Mechanics behind war art installation [+vid]

They came, they wrapped and they got none of the glory: the workers of PressOn and Gess who transformed a World War 1 battleship into a dazzling artwork.

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Hard work: the crew had to contend with the shifting tide and the wake created by passing boats

Such are the unsung heroes of the Rochester firm who were commissioned to put into place the designs of the artist as Rehberger who created the design for the warship as part of the 14-18 NOW project. PressOn were commissioned to wrap the good ship 1918 HMS President, formerly known as the HMS Saxifrage which is docked on the River Thames by the Imperial War Museum, to reveal the anti-submarine dazzle disguise.

Andy Wilson of PressOn says: “I take my hat off to the guys from Gess Limited who supplied the installation. It was a technically challenging project dealing with the Harbour Master, the ships on the Thames, the Clippers that go by and wake they create.”

Wilson said he’d been in the business for 20 years and this was the trickiest job he’d been involved in as the crews had to work on a barge moored by the battleship which kept moving

Wilson said he’d been in the business for 20 years and this was the trickiest job he’d been involved in as the crews had to work on a barge moored by the battleship which kept moving. On the land side they used scaffolding and roping skills to move up and down the side of the ship.

The work took more than a week for 12 people from the wide-format company to install more than 2,000sqm of panels using polymeric multi-fix vinyl on PressOn’s HP Latex 3000.

Although the work was reported in the national press and in TV bulletins remarkably no mention was made of the skills of the wrappers who actually installed the art installation.

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On the ropes: the team get to work


Choppy waters: at work on the River Thames


Starboard side: the design comes to life


Water wrapper: getting to grips with the job



Ship ahoy: this film gives a good impression of the complexities of the art installation:



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