Art / Street Art
Much-loved mural to get ‘remix with a twist’
One of Bristol’s most-loved murals of recent years has now been obscured by a new building but its admirers will soon be treated to a new version of it by the original artist Jody alongside Andy Council.
The new collaborative piece is taking shape on Charlotte Street only a stone’s throw from the original mural on Park Street.
It will once again feature a woman holding a large bouquet of flowers, the first version of which Jody painted in 2018 as a commission for the former Florist bar.
is needed now More than ever
“It’s a remix with a twist,” Jody said on a recent afternoon midway up the scaffolding that has been erected on the side of the building overlooking the garden of Boston Tea Party.
With Jody painting his half of the piece from the bottom of the wall and Andy starting from the top, the two artists will within a few days be sharing the same bit of scaffold as their distinctive styles – Jody’s photo-realism and Andy’s illustrations – blend into one cohesive mural.
The new piece will be a “remix with a twist” of Jody’s original mural on Park Street which was painted in 2018 but has now been obscured by a new building – photo: Jody
The wall that Jody and Andy are painting is a commission on the side of a building owned by Urban Creation, who also own 71 Park Street: new luxury student accommodation above the former TM Lewin shop and Vincenzo’s restaurant which has now hidden Jody’s original mural.
“As the years went on, I used to come by occasionally,” explained Jody as the smells of Boston Tea Party breakfasts wafted up from their garden below.
“Street art is ephemeral but I’m quite fortunate that my work sometimes stays up for a long amount of time.”
The new mural will be twice the size of the original, with this being the largest collaboration yet between Jody and Andy, whose distinctive design Jody describes as “a love letter to Park Street”.
“This is very much a celebration of the area and the people… I paint all around the country, in European destinations and in the States, but whenever I come back to Bristol I feel so proud to be from here.”
The new mural is slowly taking shape on Charlotte Street overlooking Park Street – photo: Martin Booth
Further up the scaffold on this recent morning, Andy admitted that he is not a huge fan of heights. But he was persevering and working to an intricate grid system painstakingly mapped out by Jody which ensures that everything is painted in the correct place.
Andy is best known for transforming buildings in Bristol and further afield into triceratops, ammonites and many more creatures, and he said it was a challenge to fit city locations into the shape of the bouquet that the woman painted by Jody will be holding.
As Bristol’s skyline changes, Andy can now pick more buildings for his work, but he was spoiled for choice with the significant buildings near this new mural with many familiar structures due to make up the elaborate bouquet in a mural that itself will undoubtedly become a new landmark.
“It has really been quite mind-bending,” said Andy. “I’ve been spending a lot of time on Google Maps’ aerial view thinking how I can fit the Wills Building or St Michael’s Hill into a flower.”
This piece will be the largest collaboration yet between Jody Thomas (left) and Andy Council (right) – photo: Martin Booth
Urban Creation Jonathan Brecknell added: “Park Street is an important part of our story as a company and we knew we had to do something special to honour the original mural.
“This project is our way of saying thank you to Bristol for inspiring us for over two decades.”
Main photo: Martin Booth
Read next:
Our newsletters emailed directly to you
