Two talented artists have created a spectacular mural at Union Corner to bring a splash of colour to the area.
William Luz, who lives in Stoke, is currently studying for an MA Drawing degree at Plymouth College of Art, worked with internationally renowned illustrator Stephen Smith on the giant mural.
Will, who is 36, previously worked for a number of years as a commercial image maker for brands such as Facebook, Nike, Tate and the Southbank Centre, as well as being a co-founder of art collective Nous Vous.
He was joined in the project by Stephen Smith of Neasden Control Centre in designing and creating the mural, which was commissioned by Nudge Community Builders.
Will had previously worked with Nudge on a temporary public art project for Plymouth Art Weekender 2020 named ‘A Pavilion For US’, which was commissioned by Visual Arts Plymouth CIC and supported by Arts Council England and Creative Civic Change.
Will said:
“Stephen and I are friends and mutually admire each other’s work, so we thought it’d be exciting to try and collaborate on something big. We approached Nudge suggesting that we were up for doing something like a mural together if an opportunity came up, and luckily for us, it did!
“They had already been thinking about commissioning a collection of murals along Union Street, and after working with them on my commission for Plymouth Art Weekender last year, they gave us the wall on Union Corner to work on.
“The idea for the mural came from discussion between Stephen and I, Nudge and the people who volunteer at and use Union Corner. Topics came up about support, respect, helping each other out, community and togetherness, so Stephen and I wanted to reflect that but in an abstract way.
“For a few weeks, we sent ideas back and forth, putting things together and trying not to be too precious about the work until it felt like it started to have a more balanced composition. We then worked together to hone the individual elements and the composition as a whole, followed by selecting colours, which started with ones we wanted, but had to be changed slightly as only certain colours are available as masonry paint.
“The feedback from the project has been really positive. I’m quite familiar with the area and met a lot of people through doing it, so it was nice to feel like I had more of a relationship with the area. I feel like I can appreciate the finished work now more than I usually would as it was a total collaboration. It doesn’t really feel like my work, which is a bonus.”
Photo: Dom Moore
Hannah Sloggett, co-founder of Nudge Community Builders said about the project:
Photo: Dom Moore
“We got some money from the Local Trust called Creative Civic Change. Its funding to support communities to make physical changes in an area. For us, when we were putting together our bid, people were saying they wanted more colour and joy in our streets.
“The wall’s been looking a bit gloomy for a while, so we knew we had to do something about it. We wanted something that felt really special, and that’s what the artists have done. Everyone’s been so excited, it’s got a real burst of colour and it’s nice to have something really cheerful on that corner.
“You can see it all the way down the road, which is really cool. It’s so nice to see it up and see so many people responding positively to it.”
