The Cube
As part of my Developing Your Creative Practice (DYCP) award from Arts Council England, I took a short course in Photojournalism at University of the Arts, London (UAL). This is the project I developed during that 3 day course.
Looking down from the LCC Tower in Elephant and Castle I was intrigued by the metal box in the middle of the roundabout. It seemed quite a small thing to have held its ground when all around it everything is being replaced by much taller contemporary buildings, but I didn't give it much more thought.
On the train home I was looking for project ideas on Google Maps and I saw the name of the metal box, the Michael Faraday Memorial, which seemed a bit odd. So I looked for more information. I knew the name but I’d forgotten any details from high school physics.
He was a self-taught man who made hugely significant scientific discoveries including the electric generator and an early version of the bunsen burner; he started the Royal Institution Christmas lectures for young people; he turned down a knighthood and he refused to advise the British Government on the production of chemical weapons for use in the Crimean War, for ethical reasons.
The memorial was designed by Rodney Gordon in 1959 and while most people don't think too much about it as they pass by (I hadn't until I was drawn in online) there are many urban legends about what’s inside the box. It made fascinating reading on the train but the most amusing is that it’s the home of Aphex Twin, the electronic musician, a story he appears to have fed to a journalist himself in an interview that later expressly talks about his reputation for telling lies about himself.
I wanted to see what passersby thought it was and what they thought of it.
Amy had just had an interview in the area and had no idea what the building was, but she didn’t think it was pretty.
Tash had no idea but thought it could be some kind of giant speaker or something solar powered, or it could be an art installation.
Tom and Taber were reading the information board so they knew what it was but thought it seemed a sad place for a memorial. When they were living here in 2014/15 they’d heard talk of rejuvination but all it seemed to be was high rise apartment blocks, not adding green space. They felt a little pressure wash would go a long way.
Mark works here and he wasn’t 100% sure but he thought it might be an air conditioning unit for the London Underground, pumping fresh air through it. He said it’d been there since he was a kid and he’s 50 now.
Vincent came here from Ireland in 1956 and he’s 84 now, though he moved back to Ireland a while ago and was back to stay with his sons. He told me that the only parts of Elephant and Castle that had stayed the same were the Tabernacle and the Bakerloo Line Station, all the rest is new. He told me the building is a ventilation shaft for the Underground.
The truth is, as well as a memorial, it’s an electrical substation. In many ways a fitting tribute.
Produced during a short course in photojournalism at UAL as part of a Developing Your Creative Practice Award supported using public funding by Arts Council England. Find out more about Arts Council England at https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/
