Another piece of art installed on the Tyne and Wear Metro several years ago has enjoyed a restoration with “Bridge” at West Monkseaton station now restored to its former glory once more.
The artwork features coloured glazing overlooking the tracks and platforms and has been in place for over 25 years. The restoration took place as part of recent station improvements (also taking place at Cullercoats, Hadrian Road, Chillingham Road, Manors and Long Benton).
The artwork was designed by Richard Talbot, a professor of contemporary drawing at Newcastle University, and he was on hand to see his fully restored artwork again.
Richard said: “It’s great to see my art work has been restored to its former glory after all these years. I’d not seen the piece up close for a long time but I had gathered that it was in need of some work. It’s great to see that Nexus has undertaken that work and that the coloured panes are looking nice and crisp once again.
“I was approached to create the original piece in 1998 by North Tyneside Council and Nexus. The initial idea was to do a mural, but when I met with the architects who were revamping the station at the time we both felt that it needed to be something integrated into the original architecture. This was because it’s a really distinctive and beautiful art deco station building. We wanted to create something that was completely in keeping with the style of the building, rather than something stuck on to the outside of it.”
Ian Gallagher, Head of Building Service Maintenance at Nexus, said: “It’s great that we’ve been able to restore this piece of Metro artwork to its former glory at West Monkseaton station. We’re delighted with the completed piece.
“The team did a great job, carefully matching all of the colours, and then taking the time to painstakingly repaint the glass so that it looks as good as when it was new back in 1998.
“It was great to welcome the artist who created the original piece back to the Metro station to have a look at our work.
“Art is such an important part of the Tyne and Wear Metro system. There are many different installations across our 60 stations that were put in through the art on transport programme, and it’s a key element of Metro’s role in the communities that it serves.
“This project marks the completion of a wider series of works to brighten up a range of suburban stations on Metro by our facilities and estates team. They can be rightly proud of their efforts.”