Art / News
Abandoned Bristol mattresses star in new calendar
Easton is Bristol’s “mattress mothership” according to a woman who has taken more than 1000 photos of abandoned mattresses since she started documenting them more than a decade ago.
Gemma Rigg has recently moved to Bristol from London and has continued her unusual hobby, even creating a 2024 calendar with a different abandoned mattress showcased each month.
Gemma, an animator who is also known as Warpdog, says that since becoming a Bedminster resident, she has noticed that even the abandoned mattresses often get “gentrified” with street art or tagging.
is needed now More than ever
Gemma Rigg explored every corner of Bristol taking photos of abandoned mattresses – photo: Warpdog
Gemma describes her former east London neighbourhood of Walthamstow as “the epicentre for abandoned furniture”.
“You would find huddles of mattresses loitering like they owned the streets, like mini gangs. I even made a film about them.
“The calendar started in 2011 as part of an art exhibit I did. I didn’t think anyone would buy them so I just got five printed. I then got 60 pre-orders from local residents. People just keep buying them.
“I now have customers all over the world. I thought everyone would be bored of it by now.
“When I moved to Bedminster last year, I was saddened by the lack of street mattresses, but the short supply was very photogenic as it would get tagged or beautified; even Bristol fly-tipping got gentrified.
“Last summer I was worried I didn’t have enough good mattresses for the calendar so I went on day trips to different parts of Bristol.
“It was great getting to know the different areas and I was happy to find that Easton was the mattress mothership delivering six mattresses in 60 minutes.”
Gemma Rigg’s 2024 calendar features 12 pages of “guaranteed soiled mattri to keep you inspired for a whole year” – photo: Warpdog
Gemma added: “I love putting the mattress calendar together. It’s the closest I’ll get to being a judge on Miss World.
“But I always feel sad for the mattress rejects who didn’t make the top-12. They don’t even get a stab the following year; I like my queens current and fresh.”
To buy a calendar, visit walthamstowtourism.wordpress.com
Main photo: Warpdog
Read next:
- ‘Poverty tours of Easton’
- Students strip off for Bristol University naked calendar
- Fly-tipping video gets standing ovation
Listen to the latest Bristol24/7 Behind the Headlines podcast:
Our top newsletters emailed directly to you
