Oxford, interconnected

In September 2020, I was commissioned by Fusion Arts Oxford in partnership with Oxford City Council to create a public health message mural on Manzil Way, Cowley, sited just in front of a health centre. While the primary message of the mural is the need to wear masks during the pandemic, I wanted to a secondary message of solidarity, compassion and interconnectedness, and to anchor this in the local area. The mural was therefore based on a map of East Oxford, transformed into organic root systems mapping roads, streets, paths with rich, iridescent golds, bronze, oranges and pinks on a teal background.

While social distancing and lockdowns were still very present, the community were involved in the finer details of the mural through a call out across social media for messages of gratitude and solidarity for key workers, strangers, neighbours and volunteers.

The closer you got to the mural the more you saw; I interspersed small notes, like fine delicate roots in white, to link the main roots to one another and weave throughout the artwork real acts of kindness and compassion that took place throughout the local area. This mural was one of three that appeared across Oxford city in September 2020.