The Fabric of Southall for Ealing Council, 2026

The Fabric of Southall, Southall Station Overbridge
In production · Installing October 2026

The Fabric of Southall is a large-scale vitreous enamel artwork for the Southall Station Overbridge, commissioned by Ealing Council and funded through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. It was created by Smallberg, the collaborative practice of lead artist Matt Small and designer Monika Forsberg, and produced by JG Contemporary.

The artwork takes its language from the textiles of Southall’s many communities. A run of interlocking diamond-shaped panels draws on sari borders, quilts and embroidery, stitching the borough’s cultures together across the length of the bridge, with civic motifs including the Ealing borough motto and references to Southall Manor woven through the design. The concept began life as Southall Medley and grew through community workshops at the Dominion Centre with the Southall Ladies Art Group, whose patterns and conversations fed into the final compositions.

Turning Smallberg’s artwork into a permanent public work was a complex engineering and production challenge. The overbridge spans a working railway, so the project was developed in close liaison with Network Rail, and every element had to satisfy its standards for safety, fixings and access. The Whitewall Co. acted as both fabricator and structural engineer, designing a fixing system for the curved bridge structure and laying out the panels in a staggered pattern that follows its curve. Each of the 17 compositions was colour-matched to the RAL Design system so the saturated purples, reds and golds of the original artwork would hold true in enamel, then screen-printed and fired onto steel. Vitreous enamel is extremely durable and colourfast, so the work will keep its colour for decades on a busy public route.

JG Contemporary has led the project for Ealing Council from concept to installation. That has meant coordinating the artists, community workshops, design development and sign-off, colour matching, liaison with Network Rail, and fabrication, engineering and installation with The Whitewall Co and much more. The panels are being installed on the overbridge in October 2026.

Artists: Smallberg (Matt Small, lead artist; Monika Forsberg, design)
Commissioned by: Ealing Council
Funded by: UK Shared Prosperity Fund
Produced by: JG Contemporary
Fabrication and structural engineering: The Whitewall Co.
Rail liaison: Network Rail
Community: Workshops with the Southall Ladies Art Group, Dominion Centre
Location: Southall Station Overbridge, Southall, London Borough of Ealing
Status: Installing October 2026