James Ford

To mark his move to New Zealand the artist launched a large procession of brightly coloured plastic toy boats into the Thames River on 21st June 2009, his last day in London. Each toy boat was a mini homage to the HMS Endeavour, the vessel that Captain Cook sailed on his first voyage of discovery to the Antipodes.

The boats were launched from Vauxhall Bridge, travelling down through Central London and ending up either stranded at the Thames Estuary or floating off into the North Sea. Each boat was signed on the underside and, if found, should be treated as a parting gift.

No documentation of the boat parade exists - the resulting work is a hand painted statement, a commemorative sign stating the act.