What’s The Huge 'Here We Come’ Rainbow Thing That’s Appeared At Brent Cross?

So this is a thing now. Image: Jason Hawkes

Driving or Thameslinking past Brent Cross, your eyes may well be drawn to a new landmark taking the form of a prismatically-hued slipper bath, with 'HERE WE COME' stamped on the side.

So what have we got here then: a roller coaster? The home of an LGBTQ+ footie team? The world's biggest Pringles lunchbox holder thingy?

The full title is: Here we come, here we rise. Image: John Sturrock

In fact this is an artistic 'wrap' (or 'fence', if you prefer), designed by architectural studio and wanton users of grammar IF_DO, alongside British-Ugandan London-based artist Lakwena (who's clearly in her ascendecny at the moment, having just done a collab with Beefeater gin).

And the unspeakable thing it's wrapped around? A new substation — plonked here to power the huge regeneration project going down — and which of course, no one in their right mind wants to see. Which is why that wrap reaches up to 21 metres tall.

Not a roller coaster. Although they should look into doing that. Image: John Sturrock

The full message on the installation is in fact 'HERE WE COME, HERE WE RISE', which we're told "reflects the ambition to inspire and bring people together in the local community."

This is not the first time a substation has been camouflaged with rainbow colours. In 1996, the shiny stainless steel cube at Elephant and Castle that is the Faraday Memorial went iridescent, after a Blue Peter viewer won a competition to light it up.