Commissioned by Create London as part of Be Magnificent: Walthamstow School of Art 1957-1967 Summer school, 2017.
Riffing of Cool Britannia, the whimsically anti-establishment reworking of the patriotic song, Rule, Britannia! by original Walthamstow School of Art student Vivian Stanshall and his Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band. Dash ‘N Dem alongside young people from the William Morris Gallery updated the performance for the 21st century, employing the technology used to create the world famous virtual pop star Hatsune Miku.
Workshops used a real-time singing synthesizer and 3D character modeling to consider what a national avatar could represent for young people today. Fair Britannia was created to ‘embody the need to speak out and demand a fair deal for the younger generation’. She was then activated by the public at the Walthamstow Garden Party, with real-time face tracking, digital projection and the singing synth, allowing people to perform and share as part of a collaboratively constructed political voice.
3D character modeling and animation by Karol Sielski
Music by James Barclay