The World’s longest photo develops at Excel London

Agfa, The Creative Place and Amari Digital Supplies have supported the successful Jump4London world record attempt to produce the world's longest photograph.  Artist, Designer and Inventor of the Year, Clare Newton, based in East London, had a dream of creating the world's longest photograph in time for the London Olympics. And she did it!  She photographed thousands of children and adults from all walks of life across London and combined the images to make a giant panoramic photograph - standing at just under one kilometre in length - with everyone appearing to jump simultaneously.

On 1st June 2012, the ExCel exhibition centre in London hosted the first display of the Jump4London project.  The project took Clare around two years to put together, with more than 5,000 jumpers and over 100,000 photographs. Clare weaved the photographs together to create a seamless image that spread across the near 1km print. The final print is a legacy for London to share that can weave its way through all kinds of places such as shopping malls, open spaces and parklands that are easily accessible.

As Clare says, “By jumping, people become the art: the simple movement allows any individual to take part”. A high-speed camera captures not only the participant’s spontaneous movements, but also the dynamic and exciting mix of nationalities, abilities, colour and moods, all set in environmental or creative backdrops. The panorama tells a story about the participants and what their lives are about - but the panorama is not just about a photograph. Threaded through this work of art, are hidden secrets, clues and mysteries all to be discovered through careful examination by the onlooker.”

Clare approached Agfa for support during 2011 and since then has gained the support of a number of other partners to make this ambitious dream come true. A major partner is Watford-based Creative Place who - with the Agfa Anapurna M2050 printer supplied by Graphic Printing Technologies - spent more than 70 hours outputting the image onto vinyl banner material supplied by Amari Digital Supplies using more than 50litres of ink provided by Agfa.

The Anapurna M2050 is a high-speed UV curable inkjet system with flatbed and roll-to-roll feeding capabilities. It can print at production speeds of 24smph on substrates up to 2m wide and 45mm thick.  Tim Light, Marketing Manager for Agfa Graphics, comments, “This has been a really exciting and rewarding project for Agfa to get involved with. As well as demonstrating the quality of our printers, we have helped to create a fascinating and lasting legacy that is testament to the grit and determination of the people involved. We are delighted for Clare and her team that they have achieved the dream of the world’s longest photograph and also congratulate The Creative Place for putting their own business production on hold in order to deliver this magnificent print.”

Following its display at the Excel Centre, jump4london will be moving to the South Bank in July. For more information, please visit www.jump4london.co.uk

[above and below photos show Jump4London project]