The Megaro Hotel on Euston Road and situated opposite St. Pancras Station in central London is a building to be seen. Last year, a massive, facade-covering mural was commissioned by the building owner which gave the building and new arrivals to the city, a completely made-over view. The owner, Tony Megaro states that, ‘The idea is basically to bring a bit of fun and colour to a drab stretch of road. Now when you come out of St Pancras, you’ll think: wow, what’s that?’
The work was carried out by the street arts collective Agents of Change and is titled ‘Marmite’. When I first saw the mural and the subtitle calling it graffiti, I thought ‘Surely someone must have walked out and said “Hey, what are you doing?!” before they finished.’ My grip on reality was shored up when I read that it was indeed commissioned and approved work. Some local residents are not overly thrilled with what they see as the defacement of historical architecture, but… well I don’t really have a response. Yes, the building is inexorably different. Is this good or bad, right or wrong? Just like the work’s namesake, it’s up to the individual to determine this for themselves.
I once read that it’s an editorial cop-out to conclude an article that way, but none-the-less, it’s exactly what I’m going to do.
