A welcome surprise that gets to the art of the debate
BEFORE Thursday night, Network Rail bridge ‘246 DCL’ may have seemed unassuming.
From below, the series of vaults, retaining walls and structures designed for wide gauge trains may have appealed to esoteric railway buffs. From above it is a solid wall of Staffordshire blue bricks in an English bond bearing shrapnel scars that is very much as Brunel left it in the 1850s.
But overnight a lot changed as the Jewellery Quarter community was left a Christmas card of sorts which went straight to the heart of a debate about a caring society – although Banksy, the artist, seems to have singled out Brum as a particularly caring place. Well, thank you, sir.
I am not sure we fully deserve to be let off so lightly, although from the queues and comments made by the local community on looking at it, there is evident pride in being singled out – and intent to do something about it.
We must do things properly as the work is obviously under threat, and the addition of two red noses is an unwanted cosmetic tag.
The video of a vigilante resident rubbing vigorously to remove the ‘vile spot’ just adds two more lines to a story that started off way before Brunel, and makes the Jewellery Quarter such a fascinating place.
As a conservation architect I find the intent of artwork from any age a fascinating subject.
I am currently involved in the protection and interpretation of medieval artwork at Charterhouse in Coventry, where itinerant European artists came to the city in the 1320s to leave a message on a wall that spoke of their times.
And our modern-day Bristolian artist has nailed a very similar one here in Birmingham.
Maybe Banksy does not see his street art as permanent and our efforts unwanted, whereas the medieval monks did, but it was their work which was soon to be defaced and covered over.
The lesson to us all – even we apparently caring Brummies – is that for too long we have passed this problem by and indeed it is a lesson which my profession, architecture, must feel particularly close to home.
But we all take our Christmas cards down sometime. Meanwhile, thanks, Mr Banksy, and we here will try to hold a candle for your efforts for as long as we can.
David Mahony, of PCPT Architects, is the chairman of the Jewellery
Quarter Development Trust