Artist's sculpture reflects town's cultural history

A striking new piece of public art that celebrates a town's cultural history and identity will be unveiled next week.

You Are Here is the first public sculpture for celebrated artist Tom Hicks, which he created with the support of his local community in Halesowen, Dudley.

The large blue, pink and white metal structure includes the engraved trade names and typefaces of local businesses and is part of a new transport hub and green public space on Cross Street.

Mr Hicks, who was commissioned by Birmingham's Ikon Gallery in partnership with Transport for West Midlands, said it was a "wonderful opportunity to celebrate the visual landscape of the Black Country".

The self-taught photographer used a smartphone to take images in Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton, which he shared with his thousands of Instagram followers on Black Country Type.

As part of the design process, Hicks also ran a series of photo and poetry workshops for members of the public in collaboration with Black Country poet Liz Berry, which focussed on local signage and typography.

The trade names on the sign included the recently closed Dancers, a family-run clothing store established in 1880, alongside Carpets, The Curtain People, Franklins and Master Nails.

Hicks said the project "sparked an exciting new direction for my practice – informed by my photography, I have expanded into three-dimensional work and explored materials, construction techniques and paint treatments".

The artist said he had worked directly with factories in the area to fabricate the sculpture.

"Their time, patience and expertise have been invaluable," he added.

"My art practice encourages people to observe and appreciate their immediate surroundings, and the letters and symbols that appear on the artwork were all found in Halesowen."

The piece had been commissioned to help build community ownership of the new sustainable transport infrastructure, said TfWM.

"One of our organisation's key aims is to provide customers with experiences of using sustainable transport that they want to repeat, and we hope that You Are Here helps to further this," said the organisation's Chris Brown.

The piece will be officially unveiled at an event on Wednesday.

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