Mural commissioned by the School of Philosophy and Economic Science, London

Completed on the 30th of July 2023

When I was asked to create something in this space, the client was open to the exact placement of the mural. So we walked around the room looking at the different walls to see what best would brighten up the space. In the end we chose the spot under the stairs because it is a bit of a 'dead space' which in my head just means somewhere that collects dust or that's a bit dark. The other thing about it is the walls kind of frame it either side which means when a mural is painted inside, it will create a kind of tank that you can step inside of, like going into a new world.

After travelling back to Brighton I sent designs back and forth and this was the one that we decided on. The theme of the mural was about a swan eating 'pearls of bliss'. The story was by a holy man from India called 'Sri Shantananda Saraswati'. I also included to the right some Koi fish as a nod to Zen buddhism as the building is a school of philosophy and Zen buddhism is studied in their classes too. Originally the idea was to just have the swan on its own under the stairs. But if you're gonna paint a mural, you might as well go all out. So the design flowed the whole way round the inside of that space and stopped where the main cafeteria started.

The first step of painting this mural was to get the turquoise water in. The first day was spent just getting the whole base all over that area and creating a flow around the walls. You've got to be a bit careful when going around corners so it doesn't look too pointy. This was especially important when i was painting the swans neck. I had to think about what spot in the room people were going to most often see it from and make sure from that angle the neck didn't look weird. You might be wondering. Why didn't I just do the swan on one wall. Yes it would have been easier, but I feel like there's an immersive about bringing something around the wall, it makes it feel more 3D rather than something just plonked on a flat wall. If you're gonna do that you might as well hang a piece of art on the wall rather than paint a mural!

One of the hardest things I've ever painted was the back of this bloody swan. Even to subtlest change in white would ruin the pattern of the feathers. And the lighting really wasn't that great for painting. I couldn't tell what colour was in the palette, what colour was in the tin and what colour was on the wall because it all looked different when it was wet and dry. So in the end, I had to organise the paints on the table by number, and make a chart that I kept holding up to the wall as I was painting so I could see what was going on. In the end I was pretty happy with how it came out but it was really really challenging.

FINAL PHOTOS

In total the mural took 10 days to complete. Maybe that doesn't sound like that much? Even though the mural takes up a big area, most of it it just turquoise blank space - although I did purposely put layers of glaze on those areas & did blending so it wasn't just flat colour as you'll see in these close ups.

A few weeks after the mural was finished, there was an event held about Persian Poetry & Persian Philosophers. Here are some photos of people enjoying the mural and the event and the lovely food!