Efforts to create a memorial to David Bowie have been abandoned after a crowdfunding campaign failed.
Fans of the music icon had proposed creating a 30ft-tall red and blue statue, named the ZiggyZag, in the middle of Brixton, South London, where Bowie was born – but those plans have now been shelved after their campaign failed to raise £900,000 necessary to build the memorial.
In a statement, This Ain’t Rock’n’Roll – the design team behind the plan – said: “If someone had told us a year ago that we’d raise £50,000 from nearly 700 wonderful people in just three weeks we wouldn’t have believed it possible.
“Thank you from the bottom of our Bowie-obsessed hearts for supporting us.”
Despite this, the group insisted they remain committed to recognising Bowie’s career in some way.
The statement continued: “We are still determined to celebrate David Bowie, in Brixton, with a challenging and appropriate piece of public art.
“We’re just going to have to approach the fundraising in a different way.”
The group admitted, too, that they were not surprised by their inability to reach their ambitious funding target.
This Ain’t Rock’n’Roll said: “Of course, £50,000 doesn’t go anywhere near realising the ambitions of the ZiggyZag.
“It will be no surprise to anyone that this crowdfund isn’t going to hit its target.”
The proposed memorial was inspired by the cover art on Bowie’s ‘Aladdin Sane’ album, and had even received the backing of Lambeth Council.
The statue would have been created five streets from where Bowie – who died of liver cancer in January last year – was born and next to the Aladdin Sane mural, which has become a shrine to fans since the singer-songwriter’s passing.
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