New Mural, Hope for Humanity, Brings Environmental Message
Wild animals in human clothes are depicted in a new mural gracing a small park in the centre of Leamington Spa but behind the amusing characters lies a deeper environmental message. Strathearn Gardens with its children’s play area is the location of the colourful 70-metre-long mural part-sponsored by Warwickshire County and District Council together with Art Friends Warwickshire and a private donor. The mural, entitled Hope for Humanity, was designed and curated by Tim Robottom of Brink Contemporary Arts, supported by lead artist, Gordon Landsburgh, and forms yet another of the over twenty pieces in the Leamington Mural Festival which includes The Lady of Shrubland Street, unveiled a year ago and fully funded by Art Friends Warwickshire.
Inspiration for the Strathearn Gardens mural came when Tim held workshops with Years 5 and 6 at Milverton School. Children were asked to pair a wild creature with human activities related to how the environment was being damaged by insensitive projects. From the resulting sixty pages of designs, Tim generated scenarios reflecting the need for housing,the slowness of the construction process, the power of landowners to control development and the need for preservation of our beautiful landscape for future generations.
The sequence starts with a determined squirrel surprisingly chopping down a tree and leads to a building site where two pigeons debate progress with a slug, all in hard hats and high-viz jackets. This, with a tortoise arriving with a truckload of sand, supports the message of sluggishness in the nation’s house-building programme. A mole sporting sunglasses pops up to observe the scene, accompanied by a toad guarding access to the open hills and a castle emerging through the trees. A top-hatted cat sits complacently in a small boat in a lake setting before the mural ends with a woodland path leading to sunshine and hope for a better future for the environment.
QUOTES
‘My whole life I have been concerned with issues of injustice and inequality in our society. Having discussed the environment, pollution and the economy with the children at Milverton Primary, I quickly realised that they are more tuned in to the world than we give them credit for. By pairing animals with human activities, it demonstrates the ludicrous nature of some of the things humans do. Our environment is essentially our lifeline to survival.’
Tim Robottom, – Brink Contemporary Arts.
‘Our awards to art projects throughout Warwickshire reflect our support for the community. Brink’s murals add colour and lift the spirits which is why we happily followed last year’s funding of The Lady of Shrubland Street with the new Strathearn Gardens mural.’
Faith Matthews, chair of Art Friends Warwickshire.
‘It is always a pleasure to support Tim Robottom’s work and this piece is very special as the children of Milverton School came up with ideas for the design.’
Sidney Syson, District Councillor, Leamington Milverton
‘Tim’s skill at producing murals is once again on show. I am so glad that Tim involved the children from Milverton Primary School in the designs. The murals now tell a story of relevance to our times. There has also been a surge of interest in the murals and indeed in the use of Strathearn Gardens.’
Bill Gifford, County and District Councillor, Leamington Milverton
