Curating art: creating places
ANYONE WHO has been travelling the A406 North Circular or M1 near Brent Cross recently may have noticed a colourful new landmark emerging — a monumental new artwork, unveiled this week by Brent Cross Town.
The 21m-high, 52m-long public artwork is by celebrated London-based artist Lakwena and has been created in collaboration with design practice IF_DO. Called Here we come, Here we rise and shine, it reflects the ambition to bring people together in the new community of Brent Cross Town, which is being delivered in partnership by Related Argent and Barnet Council.
The exuberant colour scheme and vast scale of the artwork, which at its highest point is taller than the Angel of the North, which stands at 20m, ensures it will become a new local landmark.
It is not only adjacent to London’s A406 North Circular, at the busy junction with the M1 motorway, but sits alongside the Thameslink railway line and new Brent Cross West station that will connect Central London with the home counties north of the city. It is estimated that some six million people each year will see it from the road and rail alone.
The artwork forms a “wrap” around the new electrical substation for Brent Cross Town; an essential piece of infrastructure that will supply electricity to all of Brent Cross Town, including the 6,700 new homes, 3 million sq ft of offices and new retail and leisure spaces, as well as supplying electricity for the construction of the new town.
In addition to being a colourful and dynamic beacon for North London, the electrical substation is also notable for its sustainable innovations. Global engineers Arup led the design team with a focus on minimising the environmental impact of the structure. The project puts circular economy principles into action with around 50 per cent of the structural steel being salvaged from unused oil pipelines, reducing embodied carbon emissions by over 40 per cent. The concrete used is a combination of low-cement concrete and the new cement-free Earth Friendly Concrete. Using these alternative concrete mixes saves up to 33 per cent and 70 per cent of embodied carbon respectively compared to standard mixes.
Nick Searl, partner at Related Argent, says: “This amazing piece of public art, designed in collaboration between artist Lakwena and architect IF_DO, is set to become a great landmark for London in this highly visible location. It sets the tone for the wider Brent Cross Town neighbourhood and demonstrates our commitment to art, culture and low-carbon development. It would have been easy to take the more traditional route of enclosing the substation in a nondescript box and to miss the opportunity that is now so evident. Instead, we have demonstrated that even the most functional pieces of infrastructure can play an important role in defining place and lifting the spirits.”
The work was commissioned following an open-call competition in early 2021. Lakwena and IF_DO drew on influences as different as Eadweard Muybridge’s motion photography and historic forms of roadside structures, such as billboards, funfairs and industrial sites that make use of a skeletal frame supporting a brightly coloured skin.
Lakwena, who is known for her joyful murals and graphical text poetry, has applied her signature colour and form to this piece.
The use of lenticular printing, where triangular panels have each of their outward-facing surfaces treated with a different colour, means the artwork appears to be in motion, changing as viewers move around it.
Commenting on her new artwork, Lakwena says: “The key pledges of the Brent Cross Town development highlight a commitment to play, inclusivity, sustainability and connectivity. All of these themes are expressed through a messaging approach, which alludes to movement, togetherness, ambition and a sense of newness.”
Lakwena is the latest artist to launch a work at Brent Cross Town and supports the ambition to brings people together through art. The new works of art curated and commissioned throughout the town aim
The artwork reflects the ambition to bring people together
The artwork appears to be in motion, changing as viewers move
to create and strengthen the overall community character, to brighten people’s days, inspire future generations and tell the shared stories of existing communities.
Lakwena joins other artists including Hanna Benihoud and Annu Kilpeläinen who have their work on exhibition in the new neighbourhood. The first public artwork was a mural on the parade of shops on Claremont Way, created by Finnish-born London based artist/illustrator Annu Kilpeläinen. A graduate of London College of Communication, Kilpeläinen’s work is recognisable by its radiant tropical urban landscapes, cars, flowers, and landscapes. The new piece of public art has been designed to inspire positivity, celebrate the local community and promote people to be active. It also marks the gateway into Brent Cross Town, the growing local retail offer, visitor pavilion and exploratory park. Another artwork is The Ribbon Rainbow, which adorns the front of the Claremont Park Kiosk, and was created by North London-based Ms Benihoud, in partnership with the local community. It is a celebration of play and sport — reflecting the natural, free-flowing approach of the play area in vibrant colours adding joy to the public space.
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