New Lines for Old Tracks

New Tesco Development - Public Art Scheme in  Accrington, Lancashire.Commissioned by Tesco Stores Plc in partnership with Mid Pennine Arts - Completed in November 2010This  new Tesco is built on a former goods yard and railway intersection.  It was fitting that a new building so perfectly mimicked what was there before, we wanted to mark this in a contemporary piece of public art.  The idea of the railway lines came from their actual former presence and that they could be effectively inscribed with this text and work really well as a piece of art.We also wanted to include seating as a way of encouraging people to use the space, read the text and sit as if waiting for a train. 

We  used curved steel to mimic bent railway tracks or buffers, making the whole thing look more contemporary “ old yet new at the same time.We employed poet Terry Caffrey who worked with three primary schools to create the text for the steel railway lines.  His style of poetry and performance really brought the piece to life for the children and they created a huge amount of brilliant poems and thoughts for us to work with.  They looked at what Accrington meant to them now, and how it has been in the past. 

They created flowing, inspiring pieces of work which we amalgamated in the final text for the piece.Scartworks worked closley with Tescos, main site contractor Bowmer & Kirkland, W A Fairhurst(Landscape Architects)  and Saunders Architects  to ensure all the stainless steel rails & seating  elements were manufactured and deliverd to site when required and installed correctly.