This box is painted on three sides. The side facing Harmony Row is painted with a red background. The title of the piece on this side is ‘Don’t Tell Me To Smile’. This electrical box is located on a bridge where scores of the local secondary school pupils pass by at lunch break each day. This piece is for all the teenage girls out there who are inheriting a broken planet and do not appreciate adults repeatedly telling them to cheer up.

The opposite side faces towards the bridge. The title of the work on this side is ‘Not As Tough As I Act’. Despite social progress it’s still not easy to be in any way different in a crowd, and admitting to vulnerability is generally still seen as weak and weird. This piece is for all the teenage boys out there who are trying to fit in and get by. Hang in there lads.

On the narrow side of the box you see three items on a red background — the Negative Space logo at the top, a smiley face in the centre as held by the teenage girl, and a cuddly duck toy, as featured under the teenage boys arm. These were added as the traffic faces onto this side of the box, so it’s a way to bring attention to the other two sides and to give the facing traffic something to look at while queuing.

2022

125 ᳵ 68cm ᳵ 48cm