YARA + DAVINA’s Pet Balloon Service, a Royal Docks Originals Festival Commission, 2021

Bertie, Rusty, Patch, Brockley, Ziggy, Marmite and Pancake; just some of the random, fun and playful names people give their pets. From places to locations, this creative and fun process of turning a word into a name, often with a meaning and story attached, opens up questions around naming. 

We are at the early stages of research for a longer term large scale project with the Royal Docks on the theme of naming and are starting this off with a fun project with balloons! We will be working with professional Balloon Modellers to offer YARA + DAVINA’s Pet Ballon Service; a fun and playful service, offering free animal balloon’s, in exchange for stories of how the public name their pets. A nod to traditional sculpture making, this joyful public artwork uses a fun and recognisable format to engage a wide and diverse local audience to think about how and why we name. 

Come along, take part in this creative exchange and take away your dog, cat, fish or lizard in sculptural form. Every Saturday during the Royal Docks Festival in October 2021.

You can read this article by James Drury, for the Royal Docks, about our project titled ‘Art That Engages Everyone’.