Kleenex x Mr Doodle! 'Outernet Live Doodling Event'

Saturday May 3, 2025.

There was a one-day event happening at The Outernet London, of which we were unaware of... until we stumbled across it.

Erin and I were heading towards The Outernet, as part of one of our walks, but had no idea that Mr Doodle would be there. Erin is a fan of his work and so became super excited.

The campaign involved Kleenex, a Kimberly-Clark brand, partnering with the artist Mr Doodle. 

The campaign included limited edition Kleenex tissue boxes, designed by Mr Doodle, alongside paid social media and other events. The biggest part of the campaign was the Outernet Live Doodling event. It was this that we had stumbled upon.

On our arrival the giant glass tissue box had a half dozen cleaners cleaning down the glass walls and door, readying it for the next event. Two presenters, Molly and Belinda, were busy talking into a camera, which was being broadcast live, which Erin and I kept trying to get into shot, succeeding on a number of occasions.

It wasn't long before the cleanup was completed and everyone eagerly awaited the next arrival of Mr Doodle. He entered the space, wearing his unique 'graffiti spaghetti' doodle outfit, with matching trainers, and entered the box. After placing his doodle markers on the floor, he picked up the blue and began doodling.

'Modern Marriage' by Simon Fujiwara

'Modern Marriage' by Simon Fujiwara (2015).

Wandering around the Nine Elms Regeneration Zone, Embassy Gardens, surrounding the Embassy of the United States of America, you will notice some pieces of public art on display.

These works of art are on display along a Linear Park, which, when completed, will be a green walking route linking Battersea Power Station to Vauxhall.

One of the pieces that I find most interesting is 'Modern Marriage' by Simon Fujiwara.

This sculpture of a dismembered left foot, lying on its side, looks, at first glance, to be just a sculpture of a foot. However, on the sole of the foot there is a gold wedding ring embedded in the skin.

 

A wedding ring embedded in the sole of the foot.

It is an intriguing piece, that I find endlessly fascinating.

'Real Time' (Man in a Clock) by Maarten Baas

The man trapped in a clock, Paddington.

At the corner of Eastbourne Terrace and Craven Road, in Paddington, on the front of the EFL building, you will find a clock.

Now, clocks are everywhere, so why is this one so special? Well, this one has a man trapped inside it.

Yep. As you peer up at this clock, a man appears and cleans the clock face, from inside, rubs out the hands and then repaints them... every minute.

It is part of an art installation entitled 'Real Time', by Dutch artist Maarten Baas.

The first 'Real Time' piece, entitled 'Sweeper's Clock', was produced in April 2009 and consisted of a video of road sweepers moving rubbish around to create analogue clock hands.

Maarten Baas followed this up with a person painting a digital clock from behind a translucent screen and then a man painting analogue hands on a grandfather clock, from behind a screen.

Ben Wilson: Chewing Gum Man

 

Whilst traversing the River Thames, via the London MillenniuM Footbridge, you will often have to dodge people, usually tourists, crouching down in the middle of the thoroughfare taking pictures of the floor.

No, they aren't floor connoisseurs, but rather people trying to take photos of miniature works of art. 

Yes, really. Beneath the feet of the millions of people who cross the bridge yearly, are tiny works of art that many miss or are oblivious to. 

It all began, back in 2004, when the artist Ben Wilson decided that the various shapes, made by discarded chewing gum, would make good canvasses.

He began his artform in Muswell Hill and Trinity Buoy Wharf before extending across the London MillenniuM Footbridge and into Tate Modern.

Considering this unhygienic way of disposing of chewing gum, and its capacity to defy the natural order of decay, I am glad that someone is doing something to highlight the issue.

Obviously, with the footfall and weather these works of art are fleeting, so they are worth seeking out.

So, the next time you are walking across the London MillenniuM Footbridge, or visiting Tate Modern, keep an eye on where you are walking.

And if you are in Muswell Hill or Trinity Buoy Wharf and see any of these miniature works of art, stop and take a good look as they won't be there forever.