An unrealisable proposal for a public sculpture
Intention Warning ( Potters Bar) is a proposal to reconstruct an emblematic moment from a train derailment which occurred in England in 2002. The life-size sculpture would consist of a wrecked train carriage wedged between the platform and the canopy of a train station at an unnatural degree angle. The intention is to preserve or sustain the shock triggered by the original accident, which has been partially forgotten (or even absorbed) by the culture. This deep suspension acts as a kind of provisional critical frame.
Inspiration Paul Virilio: “The news media over-expose the accident, habituating us to its occurrence. The idea of a Museum of Accidents takes a stand against this loss of meaning by establishing a principle of critical distance.” Incident On May 10, 2002, at 12.55, a passenger train travelling from London to King’s Lynn derailed at Potters Bar railway station in Hertfordshire, England. Seven people died and 76 people were injured. The official accident investigation established that a fault in the set of points south of the station caused the derailment. There were nuts missing from adjustable stretcher bars in points 2182A. This caused the last carriage of the four-carriage train to fly off the track at 98 miles per hour and crash-land on the station platform. The engineering company responsible for maintaining the track had suggested that mysterious saboteurs had caused the accident. This was disproved by the accident investigation report. The company went bankrupt soon after. The train operating company which owned the carriages no longer exists. Nor does the company which owned and operated the track. It took eight years for there to be a coroner’s inquest into the deaths of the victims. There has never been a public inquiry into the accident.
Sculpture Our plan is to reconstruct the platform and train canopy from Potters Bar railway station using original materials. We would then acquire a train cab of the Class 365 type involved in the accident and faithfully damage it according to the forensic evidence collected in the accident report. The task is then to wedge the wrecked cab between the platform and canopy at a 45 degree or so angle. Dimensions would be approximately 30 ft x 20 ft x 18 ft. Our intention is to display Warning (Potters Bar) in the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern in London and then tour it round the world.
Feasibility Serviceable Class 365 carriages are currently owned only by the train operating company First Capital Connect. We would have to buy a cab from them. Another possibility is to buy the lead cab from the accident’s surviving three carriages. These are currently owned by the Canadian company Bombardier and mothballed at its UK plant in Crewe. The estimated cost of this project runs into many millions of euros, even if the cooperation of the various companies involved could be obtained (perhaps as part of some corporate social responsibility initiative). For this reason, it is thought to be unrealisable.
An unrealisable proposal for a public sculpture
Intention Warning ( Potters Bar) is a proposal to reconstruct an emblematic moment from a train derailment which occurred in England in 2002. The life-size sculpture would consist of a wrecked train carriage wedged between the platform and the canopy of a train station at an unnatural degree angle. The intention is to preserve or sustain the shock triggered by the original accident, which has been partially forgotten (or even absorbed) by the culture. This deep suspension acts as a kind of provisional critical frame.
Inspiration Paul Virilio: “The news media over-expose the accident, habituating us to its occurrence. The idea of a Museum of Accidents takes a stand against this loss of meaning by establishing a principle of critical distance.” Incident On May 10, 2002, at 12.55, a passenger train travelling from London to King’s Lynn derailed at Potters Bar railway station in Hertfordshire, England. Seven people died and 76 people were injured. The official accident investigation established that a fault in the set of points south of the station caused the derailment. There were nuts missing from adjustable stretcher bars in points 2182A. This caused the last carriage of the four-carriage train to fly off the track at 98 miles per hour and crash-land on the station platform. The engineering company responsible for maintaining the track had suggested that mysterious saboteurs had caused the accident. This was disproved by the accident investigation report. The company went bankrupt soon after. The train operating company which owned the carriages no longer exists. Nor does the company which owned and operated the track. It took eight years for there to be a coroner’s inquest into the deaths of the victims. There has never been a public inquiry into the accident.
Sculpture Our plan is to reconstruct the platform and train canopy from Potters Bar railway station using original materials. We would then acquire a train cab of the Class 365 type involved in the accident and faithfully damage it according to the forensic evidence collected in the accident report. The task is then to wedge the wrecked cab between the platform and canopy at a 45 degree or so angle. Dimensions would be approximately 30 ft x 20 ft x 18 ft. Our intention is to display Warning (Potters Bar) in the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern in London and then tour it round the world.
Feasibility Serviceable Class 365 carriages are currently owned only by the train operating company First Capital Connect. We would have to buy a cab from them. Another possibility is to buy the lead cab from the accident’s surviving three carriages. These are currently owned by the Canadian company Bombardier and mothballed at its UK plant in Crewe. The estimated cost of this project runs into many millions of euros, even if the cooperation of the various companies involved could be obtained (perhaps as part of some corporate social responsibility initiative). For this reason, it is thought to be unrealisable.