Martin Firrell

“It is so deep, it’s so impressive, it goes straight to your heart.”

“Many will support Firrell’s aims… the combined effect of words, visuals and soundtrack is powerful… Firrell, an artist based in the city, is renowned for text pieces like this.”

“He’s seeking to move beyond simple messages to something which provokes in the viewer a new sense of themselves and their place in the world.”

“Yes he’s a provocateur if you like, but the underlying message is very rarely ‘life’s rubbish and you’re all a bunch of sharks’. And I think that is a reflection of Martin’s belief in the better side of people.”

“Artists have different materials they work with, and for Martin it’s words.”

“With his geisha-white complexion and vivid blue eyes, he is a touch of exotica even in the colourful world of Soho.”

“Firrell has reinvented poetry for the 21st Century.”

“What a good thing (Firrell) is for this world of ours.”

“How rare that an artist should make something which forces us to think, and encourages us to stop and think, to question why we behave the way we do.”

“Martin Firrell is my favourite public artist.”

“I like words on public buildings and Firrell is a master of gauging their power.”

“One of the capital's most influential public artists.”

“The one irreducible truth about humanity is diversity.”

“I want to live in a city where half the people in charge are women.”

“I want to live in a city where dissent is welcomed as much as it's disliked.”

“I want to live in a city where the people who make the rules have to live by them.”

“I want to live in a city where immigration is seen as a new source of strength.”

“If obedience invariably leads to cruelty, disobedience is our moral duty.”

“Security is no replacement for liberty.”

“All men are dangerous.”