Our first mural of 2021 has been a long time coming but a couple of days ago the clouds parted long enough for the sun to briefly pop its head out to say hello. That cheery greeting was enough for us to put on our painting jackets and get outside for a bit of freestyle al fresco painting.
We’d recently given the wall a spa day in preparation for mural season and stripped her back to her under layers but we’d stopped short of giving her a new coat of white because we both agreed the wall looked pretty cool as it was. A free background if you will. Time to put it to use.
All we had to start with was the basic stencil of the woman and after a fair bit of hoohah about what exactly we were doing we ended up with is the lady with the copper earrings here. She looks like she knows stuff she’s not going to tell you. And that’s most certainly the case. You just don’t have the correct security clearances.
‘There’ll always be an England, while there’s a country lane’ or so the patriotic song made famous by Vera Lynn goes. Apparently it was written in the summer of 1939 and became hugely popular on the outbreak of World War II. Now whilst i’m not English I do live in London and have a certain affinity for England and, by extension, the English. It’s heartening to know that all the brave British soldiers who laid down their lives to defend our green and pleasant land did so in order that their progeny could bring the country to a standstill by rioting in the street – all to get their hands on the latest free stuff – trainers, computers, phones and the like. There’s nothing like having a good cause to fight for…
Now whilst i’m not about to pretend that there aren’t certain segments of the population who have a legitimate grievance over certain issues I’m pretty sure that rioting and looting is probably not the best way to get your voice heard in a democratic country. Maybe it was the voice of youth galvanised by the guerilla looting tactics employed by those who clearly only had financial gain in mind that led this to become a nationwide event. Or maybe the footsoldiers of capitalism were merely showing off their new found solidarity by rising up and showing The Man just how they run thing’s round here. Either way it was an ugly episode and one worth examining.
For those unfamiliar with the song and to commemorate last year’s youth rebellion I’d like to present Vera Lynn’s version for your listening pleasure (complete with lyrics). I’m surprised the rioters weren’t singing this en masse when they raised a people’s army and tried to seize control of the state by storming the ancient seat of democracy. Oh wait a second, I’m getting confused again aren’t I? They were just rioting for a laugh anad a new pair of Nike’s. My mistake…
In order to maintain our membership of the urban artist elite we are legally obliged to do a couple of these ‘social commentary with a cheeky twist’ style pieces every year. My favourite touch is the tiny rioter conducting the burning of the local JD sports store. Keep your eyes peeled for the next one as it may have even more obfuscated meaning, sarcasm and hidden irony…
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