Hands of Hope

The mural is central to the Birchfield Estate in West ferry, London.

As the wall is central to the estate, I thought to create this central ‘warm’ feature which is a metaphor for solidarity, hands reaching to one another. To express the different nationalities, I have included national flowers from various countries (White water lily / Bangladesh, Wall iris / Algeria, Poppy / Albania + Kosovo, King protea / Somalia, Rose / UK) where estate residents are originated from. The beauty is these flowers are also typical of so many countries and continents, so that it's all inclusive, wherever people are originally from. I also included more abstract flowers, leaves and shapes. To represent the history of the area, originally the ‘old China town’, I have framed the artwork on the right and left with a numbers of plum blossom flowers (the national flower from China). That way we have a true multicultural feel, colourful and vibrant, which I think all residents can connect with. Residents and young people decided to title the piece ‘Hands of Hope’.