Neglected Ship Turned Into Floating Graffiti Gallery

I really do envy the people who can see a piece of junk and turn it into art. Maybe it’s because I don’t have talent, maybe it’s because I don’t have imagination. You probably need a lot of both to turn something the size of a passenger ferry into a work of art.

The Duke Lancaster Ferry has sat motionless in a dry dock at the Dee estuary in Flintshire, North Wales, since 1979. Maurice Blunt, a former street artist, spotted the ship while passing by on the train, and approached the owners with her ideas to make the forgotten vessel something worth a watch.

Cool Pirate

Now it’s being used by a host of international graffiti artists, who call themselves the DuDug collective, aiming to transform the Duke into the largest open air art gallery in the country. According to Blunt, she already has 22 artists signed up to the project and is negotiating with many more.

Monkeys on the Duke

The eight enormous images that cover the ship measure up to 18m (60ft) high and 14m (45ft) wide, and there are plans for much much more.

Crying Pirate

For more on DuDug, just visit their website. For more on geeky street art, there is this endless list of Star Wars inspired Graffiti, or these awesome Aliens, seen travelling buses in Norway.

More ship images via Telegrpah.