2015
SJ3489 : Dazzle Ship, Canning Graving Dock
taken 10 years ago, near to Seacombe, Wirral, England
This is 1 of 2 images, with title starting with Dazzle in this square

Dazzle Ship, Canning Graving Dock
Dazzle Ship is a co-commission by 14-18 NOW WW1 Centenary Art Commission, Liverpool Biennial and Tate Liverpool, in partnership with the Merseyside Maritime Museum. Renowned artist Carlos Cruz-Diez worked with the idea of dazzle using the historic Edmund Gardner pilot ship owned and conserved by the Merseyside Maritime Museum. The work has been realised by painters from Cammell Laird.
The commission transforms the historic pilot ship the Edmund Gardner into a ‘dazzle ship’, using a painting technique introduced as a way of camouflaging ships during the First World War. The Dazzle camouflage technique incorporated bold shapes and strong contrasts with the aim of confusion rather than concealment. Dazzle's contrasting stripes and curves create an optical illusion that break up a ship’s shape and obscure its movement in the water, making it difficult for enemy submarines to estimate a target’s range, speed and direction.
The pilot ship Edmund Gardner was built in 1953 and was a base at sea for pilots who guide shipping safely in and out of Liverpool. It is situated in Canning Graving Dock opposite the Museum of Liverpool. This work brings the technique back to Liverpool where much of the Dazzle painting on ships was undertaken in dry docks such as Canning Graving Dock during 1817 and 1918. It will be returned to the original livery in late 2015 and it is hoped that the attention the vessel will receive during the project will help in her long term preservation.
Link
Merseyside Maritime Museum
The commission transforms the historic pilot ship the Edmund Gardner into a ‘dazzle ship’, using a painting technique introduced as a way of camouflaging ships during the First World War. The Dazzle camouflage technique incorporated bold shapes and strong contrasts with the aim of confusion rather than concealment. Dazzle's contrasting stripes and curves create an optical illusion that break up a ship’s shape and obscure its movement in the water, making it difficult for enemy submarines to estimate a target’s range, speed and direction.
The pilot ship Edmund Gardner was built in 1953 and was a base at sea for pilots who guide shipping safely in and out of Liverpool. It is situated in Canning Graving Dock opposite the Museum of Liverpool. This work brings the technique back to Liverpool where much of the Dazzle painting on ships was undertaken in dry docks such as Canning Graving Dock during 1817 and 1918. It will be returned to the original livery in late 2015 and it is hoped that the attention the vessel will receive during the project will help in her long term preservation.
Link
