Not a Wallflower

In May 2018 I painted a public-facing wall of a private property in Greenwich, situated at the end of a long residential street close to Greenwich park. The client wanted a mural that spoke to both their family links to India and to their new home in south London, so I chose to focus in on mandala patterns intermingled with detailed studies of the rhododendron, which is to Asia but now widespread and familiar to us all in the UK.

I find 19th century plant hunters and botanical illustrators fascinating and, while researching this project was particularly drawn to evocative accounts by the likes of Joseph Hooker and Marianne North of encountering rhododendrons in the wild. I really enjoyed the idea of Londoners stumbling across these every-day yet alien plants, re-presented in a spectacle that encourages one to almost step inside the plant, seeing it in a whole new light.

Rhododendrons are quite mesmerising when studied under the magnifying glass. I wanted to share intimate observations - from curved stamen tubes with eye-like tips topped with pollen to fragile petals stamped with striking, branching patterns - to create a mural that offers a new insight into a plant often only experienced in passing.

This was my first ever outdoors mural and instinctively to me felt important to paint in such a way that the artwork became part of the brick surface, to work with that texture rather than trying to pretend it wasn’t there, and to not worry too much about hiding the artist’s hand. This meant that brush strokes and paint drips were all incorporated into the final work. I wanted this artwork to feel human rather than glossy and polished, and so I applied acrylics in thin translucent layers, gradually building punchy colours where needed. Although more time consuming, I prefer like how this technique helps convey a sense of the fragility of the plant, allowing the changing day light to reveal new details, such as petal folds and veins.

Hear more about the process behind the work in this ‘making of’ film by Ellie Mackay.

NOT A WALLFLOWER

The title of this mural came from the client once the artwork was finished. There’s certainly nothing of the shrinking violet about this painting! and whilst it holds many different meanings and symbolisms for the client, it also contains the evolutionary statement of fact that plants were here before us. I wanted to include this as a nod to our elders and a challenge to our attitude of dominance over the natural world.

Community response

One of the most gratifying aspects of my time painting in East Greenwich was getting to know the local neighbourhood, who were so welcoming and curious about the project.

Hear from the directly in the behind-the-scenes film: