Do you like the station's quotations?

11:16am Tuesday 5th March 2013 in News By Hardeep Matharu

Slogans have now appeared alongside the Faces of Epsom Slogans have now appeared alongside the Faces of Epsom

"I love the toyshops", "I love to grow many fruits and veg" and "knowing the time all of the time" are just three of the captions, allegedly capturing the spirit of Epsom, which can now be seen on the front of the historic market town’s station.

Slogans have appeared alongside the Faces of Epsom - the controversial art project displayed on the station’s facade which was designed by Nick Jameson, an ex-student of the University for the Creative Arts (UCA) in Epsom, as part of a competition agreed by the station’s developers, Solum Regenation, and Epsom Council.

In November, two of the three councillors who had been consulted on the faces condemned them as "hideous" and said it was not what they approved or wanted, and 70 per cent of those who took part in a poll on this website said they hated the design, questioning why there was no public consultation on the faces.

Quotes have now been displayed alongside each face expressing what "makes Epsom great to them".

The captions, each of which are repeated several times on permanent plaques next to the heads, are likely to be equally controversial due to issues with their content, punctuation, grammar, and whether they may actually be relevant in the future.

The slogans on display are:

"I love to grow many fruits and veg especially raspberries in my allotment"

"Tradition and heritage the derby and the downs"

"I love the toyshops"

"I live here, teach here, go out here, and tell everybody how great it is here"

"The fresh and vibrant art personalities walking the streets"

"Knowing the time, all of the time thanks to the clock tower"

What do you think of the captions?  Leave a comment below or email Hardeep Matharu on the newdesk on hmatharu@london.newsquest.co.uk
 

Comments(12)

Hove Ex-Pat says...
11:55am Tue 5 Mar 13

Still they do not get it. We do not like the pictures, & I think these quotations are just adding to the whole disliked picture. They do not know when to stop, or even reverse this scheme. We do not like it. It is hideous. Take the whole lot up to the UCA & display it there, indoors though, as I do not want to see it as I pass there either.

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Angela M says...
1:53pm Tue 5 Mar 13

Are these well thought-out statements or just passing remarks which were never intended to be made public? This pseudo-modern makeover has been a shambles from start to finish. Just embarrassing.

The mangled faces and strange quotes are only rendered less repulsive when compared to the pavement in front of the station. It's now covered in so many discarded cigarette butts and pavement-pizza that you can barely see the floor. People should be ashamed.

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SAM04 says...
2:28pm Tue 5 Mar 13

They need to add another quote. 'I love coming to Epsom, it's full of chavs who ask you to buy their booze and cigarettes for them from the co-op and it's probably the most boring and over rated place on earth with the worst council ever!'

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zyggy_baker says...
2:48pm Tue 5 Mar 13

There's no doubt about it; those paitings ruin the architecture of the buildings, and those quotes have just been added to make them look better.

Whyever they thought up this daft Faces Of Epsom idea is a mystery to me! I mean, the concept itself could perhaps be used inside somewhere like the town hall, Ebbisham Centre, etc. but not on the station buildings.

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missbeckysharp says...
10:06pm Tue 5 Mar 13

The cartoon style faces and the stupid quotations are lame, just dreadful. These people should take a look at the restyled London St Pancras and go away and die of shame. What a mess; what a waste of our money.

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lordofzombies says...
7:49am Wed 6 Mar 13

i just love how the tutors at UCA would have praised this design, and how the public hates it. just goes to show how out of touch those loon teachers are at UCA.

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Hove Ex-Pat says...
8:40am Thu 7 Mar 13

There is now a "reply", not the word I wanted to use, from the developers. It is in the lead story at the top of the Epsom Guardian site. But as of 08:30 on Thursday 07/03/2013, comments are not allowed. Says it all actually.
Note to Solus, Get rid of this rubbish!!

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lordofzombies says...
8:51am Thu 7 Mar 13

Hove Ex-Pat wrote:
There is now a "reply", not the word I wanted to use, from the developers. It is in the lead story at the top of the Epsom Guardian site. But as of 08:30 on Thursday 07/03/2013, comments are not allowed. Says it all actually.
Note to Solus, Get rid of this rubbish!!
i hate those posts that you cant comment on!

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Hove Ex-Pat says...
10:20am Thu 7 Mar 13

lordofzombies wrote:
Hove Ex-Pat wrote: There is now a "reply", not the word I wanted to use, from the developers. It is in the lead story at the top of the Epsom Guardian site. But as of 08:30 on Thursday 07/03/2013, comments are not allowed. Says it all actually. Note to Solus, Get rid of this rubbish!!
i hate those posts that you cant comment on!
They have now "opened" up the replies section to that story.

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mynamesnotshirley says...
3:18pm Fri 8 Mar 13

I feel sorry for this poor student who has worked hard to create his vision. Someone has approved it and he has got on with the job. Art is subjective and the issue is really that a wider group was not consulted.
It is my "opinion" that this art could be great in the right place but it is not the spirit of Epsom. This is more of a regeneration type artwork suited to an area getting an uplift. Epsom is already an affluent town and it has history being home to the Queens favorite race course. Something with a nod to history would have been more appropriate. Epsom is not the place for this.

So Nick, keep your head high just know that your work is good, but sometimes the design does not fit the brief and in "my view" this is wrong for the town of Epsom.

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sfocata says...
5:59pm Sat 9 Mar 13

missbeckysharp - yes the St Pancras renovation is beautiful. Do you have any idea how much it cost? And how much revenue they based their accounts on? This is a whole different world!

Personally, I like the faces. They're only really noticeable to the miseries who go out of their way to be offended by them, and they provide a kind of pop-art styling to an appropriately square grey building.

However, the added quotations? Dear God, no. Toe-curlingly embarrassing and badly phrased. They read like the (fake) satisfied customer quotes on a dodgy sunday supplement advert.

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Jmb Taxis says...
9:01pm Sun 10 Mar 13

The faces and quotes are just wrong.Cheap and nasty along with the Stn in my opinion.

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