Alas, I have discovered the reason for this mysterious train station advertising! Was it afterall trying to persuade us to have fun with Dulux? Was the little Andrex Puppy a victim at paintballing? What can we learn from this? Well, obviously it's about foolish innocence over HIV in the 80's. OBVIOUSLY. No, I mean it. That's actually it.
Matthew Darbyshire - Billboard Projects
"You might not have spotted The Billboard Project at Leeds Train Station, now on its fourth and final ‘ad’. It’s played host to a cycle of work by artists each granted access to its large scale presence and the collossal passing trade of commuters. Matthew Darbyshire has pasted up something emotionally evocative, involving the lovable Andrex puppy and a slogan harking back to the 80’s youth culture, evoking the style of HIV campaigns engineered to snap people out of foolish innocence. Darbyshire’s work also points to a concern that the politics of the 80’s is creeping back into the UK. The presentness of the billboard in Leeds Station in all its candy-coloured sweetness says the fight is not over."
It's so God damn emotionally evocative.
I hope that you discover this blog Ian, so that your mind can finally be at rest.
But I want to vandalise it even more.
Thanks for that! It took me a while to find this post - I've been trying to push the puppy out of my head, even considering taking the other exit from the station each morning to avoid its gaze.
ReplyDeleteMy troubled mind is indeed now at rest. I shall sleep happily tonight!