‘Our Common Ground’ has encountered a series of difficulties since it was unveiled at the end of September
The huge floor artwork covering a large portion of Bristol’s Centre has once again fallen into disrepair, raising questions about the long-term viability of the installation.
‘Our Common Ground’, which occupies more than 700 square metres of tarmac between the statue of Neptune and the Cascade Steps, was only unveiled at the end of September. It has shown signs of damage during its short life, and work to ‘retouch’ it has already been required at least once, at the end of October.
Now, new photos show it once again looking worse for wear. In some sections, the paint has almost completely worn away, exposing the dreary road surface beneath.
Even the parts of the work which have suffered less damage are considerably less vibrant than they were when the painting was first launched.
The condition of the artwork could deteriorate even further if Bristol’s weather behaves as expected between December and February.
The paintwork has been completely worn away in some sections of ‘Our Common Ground'(Image: PAUL GILLIS / Reach Plc)
Our Common Ground is located in an area which attracts a very high level of footfall and hosts the Harbourside street food market four days a week.
After it was finished, a council official said the road line paint used to create the artwork would be durable enough to withstand the amount of traffic it would have to endure.
A little over two months later, that claim appears to be in doubt. Ongoing maintenance of the artwork, and how much it will cost, is another question.
Even the less damaged parts are starting to look a little dreary(Image: PAUL GILLIS / Reach Plc)
The artwork is part of a £365,000 project from Bristol City Council to transform the Centre Promenade. The fountains that used to occupy that part of the Centre have been filled in, and five trees that outgrew their planters have been replaced with blossoming trees.
The council has also planted new flowerbeds and plants for pollinators, and resurfaced the cycleway to make it more visible.
The council has previously said that ongoing maintenance of the artwork would be paid for out of the kitty from the project.
The current state of the work is a far cry from when it was unveiled at the end of September(Image: PAUL GILLIS / Reach PLC)
However, it is unclear how much of the £365k is left, if any. It is also unclear where the money will come from to pay for continued upkeep of Our Common Ground if the budget for the Centre Promenade revamp has run dry.
Bristol City Council was contacted for clarification over the source of any ongoing funding for the artwork.
Bristol Live also asked the council if there were any plans to repaint the artwork using different materials, given the extensive damage it has suffered in the past two months.