B of the BANG

[bazzor]

What’s happening with the B of the Bang, it never seems to be finished, and looks like spikes are missing, obviously there is something wrong, is it dangerous or badly designed is it always going to be a rust colour?

[aidanorourke]

That is the 'correct' colour - rust - though on the architects visualisation, the B of the Bang sculpture was represented as white.

Some spikes have had to be removed as they posed a danger. Some of them fell off, and for many months, the slip road to Alan Turing Way, directly underneath the B of the Bang, had to be closed.

Manchester has a mixed record on public art. For some reason the 'city fathers' often spend huge amounts of council tax payers money on sculptures or artworks that people dislike or turn out to be impractical. The Market St Obelisk, the Princess Diana fountain, the giant pebble, and then the B of the Bang, all controversial, all expensive, some requiring maintenance or in the case of the obelisk, removal to Crumpsall Park.

But the B of the Bang, despite its problems, has at least made an impression. It's often depicted in photographs and is one of the most clicked on images in my photo portfolio.

As an iconic symbol of Britain, on a par with the Angel of the North? I don't think so.