London Grilling: Amy Broch (aka JOY Bomb London) & The Joyful Panda
Artist Amy Broch (aka Joy Bomb London)
It’s not every day you find yourself in a Mayfair shop window interviewing a giant panda bear - and yet, that’s exactly what happened this October when I took a visit to the Joy Cafe on Brook street to experience the pop-up interactive art installation by JOY Bomb London, aka artist Amy Broch.
Alongside Illuminate Productions the artist had transformed the disused shop front into a candy coloured, slightly psychedelic, multi-sensory mash up of art and live performance.
Feeling how I imagine Alice felt when she fell down the rabbit hole into Wonderland, I somewhat hesitantly entered the intensely flamboyant space and immediately became immersed into the theatrics of the scene whilst passers by stopped on the street outside to wave, take photos, point and giggle. Moments later, self-consciousness slipping away, I found myself waving back and smiling at complete strangers, whilst the vey well spoken, giant Panda kindly offered me a cup of tea.
Our subsequent chat went something like this….
London Living with ‘Mr Panda’
Hello Mr Panda…or errm what should I call you?
Mr Panda is very good, yes I like that very much.
Where do you come from?
Well, I live in London now. I came here as I wanted to try and meet other Pandas and people like Pandas. Those who seek the joy and the happiness in life, just like me. I hope I can stay and make friends with Londoners and show them the joys in life!
You should meet Paddington Bear. He is a great Londoner and I’m sure you would be great friends.
Paddington Bear, yes I have heard of him. I think we sound quite similar. Perhaps I’ll get on with this Paddington Bear in some way.
I see you have many books around. Do you like reading? What are you reading at the moment?
Well I taught myself to read as I wanted to discover a little bit more about what it was to be human and I thought love was a good place to start. I was advised that Barbara Cartland has written a couple hundred books about love, so I thought it would help me learn more love.
What is the one place in London you have always wanted to visit?
I would like to go on the London Eye. I have heard it goes all the way to the top and then it goes all the way back down again. And they even give you champagne!
Have you ever had champagne Mr Panda?
I have never had champagne before…but I heard it's a lovely thing to have. But it could make me Dizzy and fall off my chair. So, I think I’ll stick with my tea.
What time do you get to finish this evening?
Oh I never finish, Pandas never stop, we continue being Pandas.
Do you believe in miracles?
I’d like to know about more things outside of our understanding. Barbara Cartland stated in her autobiography ‘I seek the miraculous’. Do you seek the miraculous, what is a miracle to you?
My son is a miracle. Oh and it's also often a miracle that I get through the day. Miracles exist!
Yes! Miracles do exist!
I can see lots of people walking past and waving at you in the window. Isn’t it lovely that you get to sit here all day waving at people and seeing them smile.
Yes, it’s such a joyous lovely thing. I believe smiles and joy and happiness are perhaps, in terms of mental health, the most important things and I get to spread that to all the people that cross my path, every single day. That is my miracle. The miracle of joy.
This week, as London enters into arguably the most joyful time of year, we caught up with the creative mind behind JOY Bomb London, Amy Broch.
Amy first created JOY Bomb London after her husband Sean was diagnosed in 2018 with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis; a neurological disease that involves the nerve cells that are responsible for controlling voluntary muscle movements such as walking and talking.
Learning that happiness was linked to better treatment outcomes and longevity for ALS patients was a big moment and gave a higher meaning to the colourful, playful installations that she had been creating and experimenting with for years.
JOY Bomb London’s creative mission was born and it was all about having FUN for FUN's sake.
Hi Amy, do you have any London pop ups planned for the festive period?
We unfortunately don’t have any public interactive installations planned for this holiday season. I will however be working in my studio on some more fun, festive, JOY filled images for our Instagram page to keep us all smiling, hopeful and feeling inspired.
Our focus for 2023 will be an installation potentially in a medical setting that will enable us to spread JOY to patients, care givers and staff.
Our mission will be to create a project that enables the participants to move safely out of their comfort zones into a joyful, colourful, fantasy world, for example - right in the middle of a hospital - a sanctuary where they can chat openly, play freely and laugh wholeheartedly.
We all deserve the opportunity to maintain an aspect of play and wonder and we strongly believe that within a specific setting such as a medical one an interactive art installation that encourages play and exploration will have an even more positive effect on the specific audience.
What words of advice can you give our readers who are looking to find joy?
JOY is the antithesis of self-conciouness. So let go, dig into your generosity of spirit and you’ll find that you’ll be rich in JOY dreams……the greatest kind of wealth.
What brings you the most joy this Christmas?
I have the absolute privilege of having a 4 year old daughter in my life. Her basic instinct is to play, sing, dance and create with zero shame or self-consciousness. It is a daily delight and never ending JOY to observe her and as a parent I feel my main duty is to nurture that wondrous freedom for as long as possible.
Christmas 2021
Proceeds from every one of Amy’s installations support the Healey Center for ALS in memory of Sean, who passed in May of 2020. It is the largest hospital-based research program in the world and supports early stage trials of promising ALS treatments.