Hammonds
On Christmas Eve many years ago my heavily pregnant mother fell down a flight of stairs in a Hull department store. Although she probably jingled all the way, nothing was broken; not there and then anyway - however her waters did break four days later and, instead of being a January baby, I decided to make my way kicking and screaming into this world on December 28th. The department store in question - Hammonds of Hull - has been lovingly recreated by artist and illustrator Nick Coupland in his new collection Modernist Lines, Brutalist Shapes. As you can see, the staircase which led to my 'early doors' all those years ago has been evoked perfectly in his pen and ink drawing.
Oh no, your poor mum.... Fortunately you are the happy ending to that tale!
ReplyDeleteI am ambivalent about Brutalist architecture in reality, especially having lived and worked for several years in a new town with a strong Brutalist aesthetic which had become somewhat shabby - but there is no doubt in my mind that the images in the book look gorgeous, all those clean pure lines and shapes.
People were always falling over/down in the 60s - it was a national pastime.
DeleteYes, it's a beautiful book, that's for sure. He's a very talented artist
Gosh what a scary thing to happen - Glad all ended well.
ReplyDeleteDept stores had so many stairs in those days and split levels so the potential for falling was great. As a kid I once raced my dad up a grand staircase in a dept store but he stumbled and made a bit of a fool of himself. He probably forgot all about it but I felt bad about it for years.
Like C I admire the architecture but it just can’t be allowed to deteriorate - Got to be kept clean and sharp to work.
Perhaps if all department stores were like this then life would be better...
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