Writing’s on the wall: Tim Easley is one of the artists adding a splash of colour to ‘otherwise dull’ and run-down Croydon town centre
STEVEN DOWNES on the latest efforts by Westfield to make up for more than a decade of development blight
After a 12-year wait, Westfield has finally started constructing something in Croydon town centre.
Nothing as substantive, or as lasting, as any bricks and mortar towards the long-promised £1.4billion regeneration of the Whitgift Centre and Centrale shopping malls, where delays have caused significant development blight for businesses and residents.
But at the end of last week, hoardings began to be placed around the Allders building along North End, all decked out in colourful, specially commissioned street art, by artists including Rich Simmons, Alec Saunders and Bareface.
Meanwhile…: Rich Simmons’ pop art style is familiar around Croydon
It is part of a Let’s Do London Better campaign, and the hoardings follows a bit of a clean-up of the long-neglected Allders fascia. The hoardings are expected to remain in place “while essential works take place”.
Laura Nevill, the founder of Let’s Do London Better, has “curated a selection of five local artists and commissioned each to create an artwork which showcases and celebrates Croydon and its culture”.
According to Nevill, “Each artist has interpreted what they love about Croydon in their own style, creating a huge artistic showcase right in the town centre.”
Alongside each artwork, designer Alex Hill has created an animation which pops up when the QR code on the hoarding is scanned.
Nevill said, “The Let’s Do London Better campaign is working to transform public spaces with work by emerging artists.
“Since launching we have offered over 30 emerging artists paid opportunities to have their work showcased in large formats across the city.” It is understood that the Croydon works have been paid for by the developers, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, rather than from any public funds.
Nevill says that the intention has been to transform “otherwise dull public spaces… into a wonderful public art installation”.
Second glance: shoppers in Croydon town centre might not have too many shops to visit, but Alec Saunders’ art’s good
Simmons’ Roy Lichtenstein-inspired pop art will be familiar to Croydon residents from his previous contributions in earlier street art exhibits around the Nestlé Tower and town centre, often featuring reflective glasses, and including Batman kissing Superman, as well as the poignant Princess Diana in the Surrey Street water tower.
Simmons no longer lives in Croydon.
His former home, on Wellesley Road, which was bedecked with one of his own works, has been demolished by developers. Has anyone ever done an artisitic representation of irony writ large?
“It’s nice to still have a little impact and use my art to make people smile, even if I’m not there anymore,” Simmons told Inside Croydon.
Of his new work outside Allders, Simmons said, “This style of pop art, comic book girl, is an evolution of previous work I have done with girls in glasses reflecting famous artworks.
“I wanted to do something that represented the diversity of Croydon which is why its the same template of a woman repeated but with different features, skin tones and expressions to show that everyone there is different but they’re all united by the experience of living in Croydon.
“Having the different locations in the glasses makes you feel like you’re experiencing the town through each of their reflections and going on a journey with them.
“Let’s hope, while its up, it inspires others who see it and creates some dialogue about Croydon and equality.”
Simmons’ work can be viewed on his website, www.richsimmonsart.com.
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I think the art works organised by the “Lets do Better ” campaign for the hoardings around the Alders building show what can be achieved by artists with a commitment to the idea of a better Croydon.
That’s a truly sweet and nice hope but unrealistic and unachievable.
Murals will make no difference apart from encouraging graffiti artists.
The evolution and eventual degradation and uselessness of all political systems is inevitable, as the meerkats say: “Simples!”.
No system can take account or change the essential facts of human nature and, because of this, failure is always inevitable.
All human groups are a mixture of people who are intelligent and clever and stupid and suspicious and cynical and naive, saints, sinners and shits are neighbours, covetousness, jealousy, greed and altruism co-exist everywhere, stoics and hypochondriacs get married to each other, sex drives some people mad and others crazy, Donald Trump doppelgangers are to be found everywhere and are increasing in number, for every snake oil salesman there is a credibility gap, for every gullibility gap there is a credibility infill (just made that up, quite like it!).
And you are hoping to design, create, enforce and uphold a system which could cope with all this and more? As the innkeeper exclaimed when an Englishman, an Irishman and a Scotsman walked up to his bar: “What Is this? Some sort of joke?” and then, “Anyway, you can’t come in here without a Thai.”
This receives this week’s “Comment of the Week” award, brought to you courtesy of Nestle, Sainsbury’s and Turtles.
So where are the homeless are going to sleep, they were using the shop doorway as shelter.
The Subway under Wellesley road is becoming a tad overcrowded. One would think it was intention by the Council.
I think URW were inspired in commissioning Lets do London Better. besides being pretty good work on the hoarding and also cleaning the brickwork It subliminaly is a repeated message to this Council from the Developer.
Let’s Do London Better!
I do think that creating a simple wooden three sided are at each end with a long bench and a portaloo in the middle would have been a useful use of the space.
I also feel that a 12 x 10 cabin style shed that could have been utilised by charities in the evening to dispense food and during the day as a meeting point for a person to assist the homeless that want safe accomodation to attempt to help them find safe accomodation. Or something else just as practical that can actually seek to resolve the problems of the Borough that this Council continually failed to do.
Just think URW. Work in the Residents interests and get the Residents behind you and supporting you and being your local strong customer base – Perhaps think of adding real communication with real residents that actually want a safe vibrant borough. You might be surprised
I think your last paragraph is spot on……and I would really love to be surprised. But, ancient cynic that I am, also have to say that I would be surprised to be surprised!
Don’t forget to make an FoI request in a few months to find out how many people have scanned the QR codes to get an animated experience!
Strongly suspect the council will swerve that one, on the grounds it is URW’s baby, and they ain’t gonna play FoIs this side of hell freezing over…
And at least, for once, no public money has been transferred for private interests on this project. As far as we know…
just makes the whole place look more derelict IMO
So run this past me again. The Allders site is going to be demolished when redevelopment takes place. So lets clean up the facade of the site that is going to be demolished.
QED it isn’t going to happen is it. It seems the blight of Croydon is never going to be lifted in the lifetime of anyone presently around.
Here we go again with more public art to lift everyone’s mood and perceptions. Hasn’t worked in the past and god only knows why they think it is going to work now. The complete hollowness of this gesture by the developer suggests to me they are sending up smoke signals to deflect from that they are trying to get out of all this.
The epitome of artwashing
I just noticed that at either end of the series of artworks there is now a board bearing this propaganda:
“WHAT IS HAPPENING TO ALLDERS?
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield is working with the Executive Mayor of Croydon Jason Perry and Croydon Council to bring forward new plans for Allders, Whitgift and Centrale shopping centres.
Allders is a much-loved landmark in the town centre and to ensure the safeguarding of the façade of Allders for the future, we are investing in cleaning and repair works now…”
I hope the part-timer declares this on his re-election campaign expenses