Reasons to be Cheerful / Sonic Vista
Richmond Park, London / 2002

The first incarnation of the Sonic Vista bench - a simple idea which keeps growing. A generic wooden park bench contains 2 solar-powered MP3 players, each of which might contain a different soundtrack, accessed by plugging in your own walkman/iPod headphones.

Reasons to be Cheerful was conceived of in 2000 as a memorial to Ian Dury who passed away that year. Having been exhibited both nationally and internationally, the bench was permanently placed in the grounds of the Poets' Walk at Pembroke Lodge, Richmond Park in April 2002, where it remains to this day. A favourite spot for the singer to relax and spend time with his family, the bench was placed with the assistance of Warner Bros music.