17 August 2018
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A series of supersized poster stamps have been added to the walls of Middlesbrough railway station's subway
Tees Valley artist Suzie Devey hit on the eye-catching notion of exhibiting her work in a philatelic format when she recently created a number of linocut and drypoint portraits to celebrate local people who have made asylum seekers and refugees feel very welcome on Teesside.
The results have been on view throughout much of 2018 as a series of supersize poster stamps which look set to continue attracting the attention of Middlesbrough railway station passengers into next year when they walk through the station’s subway between platforms.
Displayed on the tiled walls, each poster depicts a person from the locality who helped to provide sanctuary for an asylum seeker or a refugee.
The stamp-like borders around each portrait show words and images created by some of the refugees expressing their responses to the kindness of those who gave them help and hope.
The station, opened in 1877, has an ornate Gothic frontage which survived German bombing during the Second World War.
An extensive redevelopment project is underway, with an additional platform planned and direct services from Middlesbrough to London set to run from 2020. Any increase in passenger numbers could bring the artist’s work to wider attention, as well as introducing more people to poster stamps if the present display remains on the subway walls.