More Murals Help to Transform Town
TINA MORRIS
With one more mural to come, and a selection of BT Boxes appearing, Coastal Currents has been leaving street art wherever they appeared in 2024. The Old Bathing Pool site at Seaside Road in St Leonards has been transformed by three world class artists so far, with one side still to come.
David Speed has chosen to reflect the visiting Peregrine Falcon on the road-facing side, giving the old electric box a real sense of self, as the neon wings welcome you, and wrap themselves around you as you turn on to Seaside Road from the main road. Somehow this gives this decaying electricity substation a feeling of place, an identity. It begins to mark the spot as significant, loved and looked after.
On the East Face sits Menelaus by Hero32, an imposing but grounding figure you can see from the other side of the grass plateau. The scale is an important part of the curation, and seats the electric box as a ‘piece’ in its own right: to take up the space it deserves, and to shine tobe architecturally appreciated rather than ignored.
The sea-facing side, by REQ, uses a CMY process to build transparent paints into a swimmer, harking back to the original use of the site, and its most beloved incarnation as a swimming pool. Local people would talk fondly of its history even while it was being painted. Other murals this year include: Ed Boxall – West Hill Playground shelter mural, and REQ – White Rock Theatre Basement, West Street. Old Town stillto come – Mark Daniels.
See the murals on youtube: youtube.com/embed/14ZBJx2o6AQ?si=q5rQZRy4fMX4jt7K See Ed Boxall’s mural on Instagram: instagram.com/ed_boxall/reel/C-nwoGwIsBx/
We hope you have enjoyed reading this article. The future of our volunteer led, non-profit publication would be far more secure with the aid of a small donation. You can also support local journalism by becoming a friend of HIP. It only takes a minute and we would be very grateful.
Leave a Reply