Upcycled and Remixed: A Community-Built Installation at Pitsea Market.
From January to April 2026, CLIP ran Upcycled and Remixed in Pitsea Market. Commissioned by Creative Basildon and their community group, Pitsea Voices, the project resulted in a community-built installation displayed at the Market. In this blog, CLIP co-founder Frazer Merrick reflects on the different stages of the project and the joy that came from working on an initiative that was truly collaborative, place-based and community driven.
Photos by Amber Merry Photography
Upcycled and Remixed was a community art project celebrating the Essex town of Pitsea. I was excited to collaborate with textiles artist Rachel Jefferson to design a series of workshops where residents would come together to create an interactive tapestry from found materials and sound, where everyday waste would be transformed through textile making and creative technology into a playable artwork that celebrates place, sustainability, and community creativity.
The project began by visiting the market and collecting materials. I recorded the sounds of onions being fried in the cafe, the scratches of hangers on clothes rails and the beep of the nearby pedestrian crossing. Meanwhile, Rachel collected materials to be upcycled, including an old market tarpaulin, Amazon delivery sacks and plenty of plastic bags. This is Rachel’s forte, transforming discarded materials into beautiful pieces.
During the February half term, we joined the market for a pair of drop-in activity days, inviting the community to make beats from the recordings (using the apps Koala and Boarderlands Granular) and collages using the upcycled materials. We had a fantastic two days, some interactions were quick, others led to longer conversations. Some folk were surprised to see arts activities amongst the market, but over time, familiar faces started to return, asking when we’d be back and where the work would go next. The bustling market was brim with creativity and it didn’t take long to generate brilliant ideas.
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At this project mid-point, Rachel and I began sifting through the sea of soundscapes and stacks of collages. Whilst I started layering beats and drones, Rachel crafted a tapestry panel from the market tarp and started laying out the collages. With this new starting point, the project progressed with workshops at Vange Library and the ATF Community ‘Teenage Club’. At Vange Library, the Crafternoon group worked on a panel of the tapestry, responding to what was already there and shaping how it evolved. This way of working made it easier to begin and opened up discussion around materials, process and shared decision-making. Is it still a collaboration if it’s only in one direction? Drawing on their own lived experience, they also advised on the interactive elements of the final installation, suggesting ways to interact with the textiles to affect the sound that wouldn’t be too overstimulating.
With ATF Community, the teenagers composed additional beats and drones – but excitingly one group wrote and performed a rap about the market to one of the beats made from market sounds! Across all of these sessions, all contributions were treated equally. Whether someone spent five minutes at a stall or several hours developing an idea, everything fed into the final piece.
On April 11th the installation was presented in the market. The work took the form of a two-sided tapestry built from the materials and contributions gathered. Embedded within it were sensors that responded to movement, shaping the soundscape made entirely from participant compositions and field recordings. The underlying technology behind this interaction was made possible through our ongoing research and development into accessible music technology.
People encountered it in different ways. Some passed by, some stopped to figure it out, others recognised elements of their own work within it. It was wonderful to see the folks that had made it come and see the final piece, and explore how their work had evolved in the hands of others.
“I’ve just attended this amazing open-air installation, at Pitsea Market. It really is a totally immersive experience that reacts not only to touch, but also your physical proximity to hidden sensors woven into a carbon neutral textural tapestry. I’m blown away!“ – Sylak Ravenspine, Artist
The physical design was inspired directly from the market. The upcycled tarpaulin, layered textiles, and structural elements were all inspired by stall holders’ setups. The chains on the edges of the stall mimicked the way market stall holders hang hangers – except we made ours interactive, playing sampled sounds of the nearby pedestrian crossing chime.
I would like to thank Creative BasildON and Arts Council England for their support, and our partners Essex Libraries, Pitsea Market and ATF Community. It was incredibly rewarding to work with Rachel Jefferson on the textiles, and of course the wonderful members of the community that contributed to the artwork.
