Kings Cross Fire

On Wednesday 18 Nov 1987, an enormous fire engulfed an old wooden escalator at Kings Cross London Underground station. Thirty one people died, including a firefighter, in one of the most tragic events in British public transport history. Mark Willcox, a designer working in London in those days, left the station only minutes before the fireball exploded in the escalator well. The Kings X Fire series was created in 2008 as a commemoration to mark the 21st Anniversary of the Fire.  The artworks draw on notions of fate and chance, evoking his memories of the media reports and dark thoughts of what might have been.  Despite the disturbing undertones in the subject matter and a stark narrative suggested in the title of each piece, the artworks have a surreal, dream-like quality with intense colour and liquid texture, giving rise to a conflict between beauty and horror.  The work was premiered in the group exhibition, Liverpool International Artists, before transferring to London as a solo exhibition, where it opened on the actual 21st Anniversary night of the Fire