Art-Deco inspired glass installation restored to former glory at Tyneside Metro station

The artwork, known as Bridge, overlooks the tracks and platforms at West Monkseaton Metro station

An art installation at a North Tyneside Metro station has been restored to its former glory as part of improvement works. The artwork, known as ‘Bridge’, has overlooked the tracks and platforms at West Monkseaton Metro station for more than 25 years.

Created by artist Richard Talbot in the late 1990s, the artwork is now looking as good as new following the completion of the project. Richard, a professor of contemporary drawing at Newcastle University, was also there to give the work his seal of approval.

Metro operator Nexus carried out the restoration work as part of a recent improvement project at six Metro stations – West Monkseaton, Cullercoats, Hadrian Road, Chillingham Road, Manors and Long Benton. The coloured glass at West Monkseaton was first installed as part of the Art on Transport Programme in 1998.

Richard’s design was commissioned to work alongside the project architects to contribute to the art deco station’s overall colour scheme. In more recent years the vibrant yellow, blue and red glass had faded and needed a refresh.

Speaking to ChronicleLive about the inspiration behind the art, Richard said: “I had a particular interest in art-deco buildings, so felt we could do something really quite special and [it] could be done quite simply. It wasn’t about creating some fancy artwork that would look slightly out of place, I wanted to do something that was completely integrated into the building.

“We looked at the colours of the building, the walls, the metal fencing, the railings and all of these things. It could be done respecting the original architectural ethos of an art-deco building, which is incredibly simple, straightforward. That was the basis of our design.”

The Nexus Facilities and Estates team researched and colour matched the paint for the glazing, before carefully carrying out the repainting works. 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.”

West Monkseaton Metro station is one of a small number of art deco stations on the Metro system. It is a former British Rail station, opened in 1933, which was converted into a Metro station in 1979 ahead of the system opening in 1980.