Just ten days after a big reveal, ‘Our Common Ground’ is proving to be a challenge to maintain
Some wear and tear is already visible on a new City Centre mural(Image: PAUL GILLIS / Reach PLC)
The new street mural at The Centre is already looking slightly worse for wear. The artwork ‘Our Common Ground’, was launched on September 29,
But when Bristol Live a week after it was unveiled, there were tyre marks visible on one section and paint had come loose from another.
When the mural was opened, one of the men who helped put it together it said it would be looked after.
“It’s being maintained by the council,” Steve Hayles, founder of Bedminster urban art festival organisation UpFest, whose members were part of the team that painted the mural, said. “There will be a weekly clean-down of it, obviously there’s going to be traders and things on here.”
Some wear and tear is already visible on a new City Centre mural(Image: PAUL GILLIS / Reach PLC)
“It’s a space to be used, but it will be maintained over the years to come.”
The Harbourside Street Food Market takes place in The Centre five times a week.
After a bit of rain, some parts of the mural were a sad sight(Image: PAUL GILLIS / Reach PLC)
During our visit on a sunny market day, the overwhelming majority of people were positive about the artwork, saying it brought some much-needed vibrancy and colour to an otherwise fairly grey area of Bristol.
However, the early signs of wear, just one week into the lifespan of ‘Our Common Ground’ suggest the council will have its work cut out maintaining the installation, particularly as the weather worsens over winter.
Tyre marks were also visible on parts of the mural(Image: PAUL GILLIS / Reach PLC)
The mural took about three weeks to complete. It covers an area of 704 square feet between the Cascade Steps and the statue of Neptune just before Baldwin Street.
The centre of the artwork contains the word “Bristol” written inside a huge heart.
Installation of items to complement the mural will continue throughout October.
Interpretation panels will offer visual and audio descriptions of the artwork, along with the cultural and historical context behind it.