Angel Edmonton Crossing

In October 2020, Hive was commissioned by Enfield Council to create an art crossing as part of their Enjoy Enfield Summer of Arts programme. Hive were one of the five chosen designs to celebrate arts and culture in the borough and also as a long-term initiative to see how art can transform public spaces.

Our design sought to celebrate the technological and manufacturing heritage of the Edmonton area. Our inspiration was taken from the history of the manufacturing company Thorn and Ferguson. In 1932, Thorn acquired the Atlas Lamp Works and began making light bulbs in Edmonton, North London. The company grew rapidly to become Thorn Lighting, one of the world's largest producers of lamps.

After changing its name to Thorn Electrical Industries in November 1936, the company later began to diversify and bought Ferguson Radio Corporation in the late 1950s and Ultra Radio & Television in 1961.

We chose to pay homage to the first solid-state colour televisions that were manufactured by Ferguson Plant (Thorn industries) and supplied to British households. The vibrant colours of the crossing referred to the iconic BBC test cards, and the structural grid also referenced the architecture of the Regal Cinema built in 1934 on Fore Street. Uniting these two iconic moments in the local cultural history, this work sought to celebrate motion pictures, time-based media, and the birth of visual communications in the area.