we won art car parade with tiki truck!!!!

TIKI LOVE TRUCK WINS ‘BEST MAKE OVER’ AWARD AT UK’S FIRST EVER ART CAR PARADE.

On the 8th September 2007 the ‘Tiki Love Truck’ rolled through Manchester City Centre at the UK’s first ever Art Car Parade, produced by Manchester based art organisation Walk the Plank. The artists, Baroness Von Reichardt and partner, Mr Spunky, of The Treatment Rooms, won the Best Makeover award at this event. The Tiki Love Truck was created in commemoration of John Joe Amador 'Ash', who was executed by the State of Texas in August 2007.

The Baroness and Mr Spunky dwell in their home-cum-living art space, in Chiswick. 2006 saw the unveiling of the back wall of the property transformed with a 22ft x 6ft mural dedicated to the memory of Luis Ramirez, who was executed the previous year in Texas, a long standing pen pal to the Baroness.

Responding to an advert in The Big Issue, requesting pen pals for inmates, the Baroness embarked on a life changing journey she could have never envisaged. For over seven years she has been writing to prisoners on Texas Death Row. What started out as an altruistic act, developed further as she discovered the tragic circumstances of the people who found themselves incarcerated in Livingston, TX. A visit to Luis Ramirez two days before his execution cemented her relationship with the people whose lives have been forever shaped by the stigma of prison, the justice system and capital punishment.

This summer, the Baroness returned to Texas, where she witnessed the execution, by lethal injection, of Ash. Accompanying her on the journey was renowned sculptor and musician (of Alabama 3) Nick Reynolds, and Paul Blackwood of Punkvert. With Ash’s permission, Nick, reviving an ancient Egyptian tradition, cast a death mask of him directly after the execution.

A resin copy of Ash’s death mask takes pride of place on the top of the ‘Tiki Love Truck’ although the final cast form will be displayed as part of a major exhibition planned for 2008. Uncomfortable, and always complex, the issue of state sanctioned murder will be addressed in the 'Death Row Show'. The show promises to bring the reality of capital punishment into the public domain. Jake Chapman, Vince Ray and several death row inmates are amongst those confirmed in a growing list of contributing artists.

Incorporating the journey to Texas, and the following art car parade, Punkvert are currently producing their second creative documentary, 402, in memory of Ash, highlighting the triumphant nature of the human spirit in the face of adversity.

For his wife Linda and their two children it is a chance to honour his memory and ensure that his spirit lives on. Linda Amador will be flying from Texas to ride in the Tiki Love Truck at the third ‘illuminated’ Art Car Parade in Gateshead on New Years Eve.

“A death mask, that’s what Kings have. Now I know I’m not trash. I am somebody.”

Ash's last words to the Baroness spoken just one hour before his execution.

Simply Brilliant!

Very well done guys, the truck looks fantastic, do you park it outside the house?
Anybody on TC who doesnt know about the Treatment Rooms should check it out!