The 250 sq metre frieze by Barnet-raised artist Giles Round is part of the new Brent Cross West station

A row of people stand before the big frieze — Photo: Barnet Council

A new 250 sq metre architectural frieze by celebrated Barnet-raised artist Giles Round was revealed on Tuesday 28th December at the soon-to-open Brent Cross West, London’s newest mainline station.

Entitled Time passes & still I think of you, is dedicated to the artist, Giles Round’s late mother Margaret Round, who for a time worked in Brent Cross shopping centre. Combining personal memories with ideas about how place is essential to our sense of identity and how the buildings around connect us with the landscapes of our lives, the artwork is a tender monument to love, loss and hope.

Giles Round, the artist, said: “The work is a monument to love. It is for everyone, in particular, all we have lost.”

The large-scale work comes just as Barnet launches its bid for Borough of Culture 2027 and is another landmark piece of art in the area that helps promote and celebrate the borough’s cultural identity.

Councillor Ammar Naqvi, Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure, Arts and Sports at Barnet Council, said: “High profile artworks like the latest frieze by Giles Round at Brent Cross West help to showcase how we are building Barnet as a cultural destination. Our commitment to bid to become London’s Borough of Culture is about identifying and amplifying the amazing cultural offerings we already have here in Barnet, and about attracting artists, musicians and other cultural contributors to come here.”

Brent Cross West is London’s newest mainline station and is set to open on Sunday 10 December 2023 with Thameslink trains connecting to central London in as little as 12 minutes. It provides the gateway to new neighbourhood Brent Cross Town via a new overbridge that will give access across this part of the Midland Main Line for the first time since it was built more than 150 years ago, linking communities on both sides of the station, and making it much easier to get around the area.

Morwenna Hall, Partner at Related Argent, the developers with Barnet Council of Brent Cross Town, commented: “This is an exciting day to unveil a major piece of public art which is part of the new Brent Cross West station. We are committed to delivering arts and culture from the very beginning of the development for the local community to enjoy. The new station is an important part of Brent Cross Town which enhances sustainable connectivity for local residents and anchors the new business and innovation district.”

Phoebe Greenwood, the curator, said: Giles Round is one of the UK’s most important artists with significant permanent public artworks across the country. Art, Round believes, has a critical place alongside architecture and design in creating organisations and environments to help us live well. The artist’s commitment to the civic and their unique relationship to the location has brought something profoundly personal into this new public space. This is a vibrant artwork. Bright colour, bold geometry, scale, beauty, pleasure – these are important elements the artist enjoys working with.”

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