Mural of Hope – Sparkbrook, Birmingham (2011)

I was invited by artist Mohammed Ali to travel from the Netherlands to Birmingham to collaborate on a mural in Sparkbrook, the neighbourhood where he grew up. At the time, parts of the area were visibly run down, with boarded-up buildings, neglected spaces and rubbish accumulating in the streets. There was a sense that the neighbourhood had been overlooked and under-invested in, yet alongside this were strong communities and a rich cultural history.

Sparkbrook also has a fascinating history of cultural change. Until the 1980s and 1990s it was predominantly an Irish neighbourhood, before many Irish families moved to other, more affluent parts of Birmingham and the area became predominantly Asian and Muslim. This history had a particular resonance for both of us. I grew up in London with an Irish background, while Mohammed grew up in Sparkbrook within its Asian Muslim community. We were therefore approaching the wall from two different but connected experiences of migration, identity and belonging.

We wanted the mural to reflect this changing cultural landscape without presenting these histories as separate. Intricate Celtic and Islamic patterns flow into and through one another, suggesting how one community can give way to another while remaining connected to what came before. For me, coming from a social-realist background, working with pattern and abstraction rather than figurative imagery was also a challenge. In a way, this became part of the message itself: breaking down stereotypes and finding connections between cultures that are often presented as entirely separate.

At the centre of the mural is the word HOPE, with the words “A weapon against despair” woven into the design. People were surprised to see us bringing so much colour and attention to a street that had received relatively little investment. When some residents saw the word HOPE, their response was simple: “We definitely need some of that here.”

For me, a community mural should never simply mean arriving in a neighbourhood, painting a wall and leaving. The wall is part of the everyday environment of the people who live around it. Engaging with residents, listening to their responses and making the work part of their environment is therefore an important part of my practice. In this way, the mural becomes more than the work of two artists; it becomes something shared by the community.

With this wall, we wanted to arm the people of Sparkbrook with hope.