The Greenwich Foot Tunnel

I was recently offered a wall in a courtyard of a house on Trafalgar Road in Greenwich, near Maze Hill station. At first the task seemed daunting since the last mural I painted was in 2010 and also because the wall is 5x3 meters approximately so rather big.


I was given carte blanche and for a while I toyed with various London landmarks. However, on the way down to my first meeting with the client I was cycling from East London down to Island Gardens to get across to Greenwich via the foot tunnel as I had done many times before. I've always found it fascinating, ever since I read the story of the Thames Tunnel, the first ever underwater tunnel and its engineers' ordeal. As I was exiting the dome at the other side I came up with the idea of these archaic creatures that guard an underground crossing hidden from public view. Similar to the underground labyrinth in Ursula K. Le Guin's The Tombs of Atuan.


By the time the Greenwich foot tunnel was given planning permission engineering had been perfected considerably so it's construction wasn't as dramatic as that of the Thames Tunnel. Completed in 1902 it allowed workers living south of the river to reach their workplaces in the London docks. Equipped with two large lifts and spiral staircases nowadays it still is a public highway and therefore opened 24 hours.


In this piece I wanted to focus on the usage of the tunnel and the idea of journeying through the innards of these huge ancient architectural beings. Will you be the same person when you get out? I did it with Aztec art and 8bit video game level designs in mind and it's hand painted with black and white masonry paint over blue spray paint.

Under water

Above water

End of the journey and the Minotaur

Early sketch

Scaling with my assistant Ana

It's hand painted. In freezing conditions.

Market Estate's Aftermath

The Market Estate Project is over! By now the demolition crew should have replaced artists and bulldozers should be making way for the new blocks. I thought everything would be knocked down in single dramatic explosion but apparently it's a slower more painful process of damaging the inner structure til it's only a matter of poking it to the ground.

I went to the estate for the last time to pick up my stuff and was a bit struck by melancholy as it looked as desolate as it did one month ago when everything was just starting. Someone has already contributed to my murals with some clever writings and lots of dicks. Have to say I'm very surprised by the godly pyramid, doesn't look like a fool's graffiti! Everybody is welcome to contribute, this is public patrimony only for a limited time...

I have to say this project has been a wonderful experience. Thanks a lot to the guys in Tall Tales, they did the toughest task!

Juvenile delinquents

It's been a tough week at Market Estate with snow, wind and the menace of this gang of local kids hovering the estate. It's reported that they gathering up to fight back us usurpers of their legitimate playground and vandalize the artwork before the site is completely fenced by Tuesday. So I've decided to take some photos of the murals at the current stage in case tomorrow they're just gone.

On the other hand, I've come to know some of the residents that bit by bit are moving out. There's even a family from Lugo. Was very surprised by this old Spanish lady that spoke perfect english, they're very rare!

70% chance of a sunny day when my flatmate Yuki came to help me today. She was right, thanks!

Sketching in Market Estate

One week without posting already... How come if I've been in front of the computer beyond considered is healthy? Well, I've been busy trying to get along with Flash for this test for a game company.

Now I'm back on working on my treasure hunt for Market Estate Project. I've now completed the first stage of sketching and coating the walls prior to start painting. Here two photos showing the process! The second belongs to what I call the needle room, a dark storage room where a wasted character used to live, there are cans of beer, lids of dog food, fliers 'bout getting the house of your dreams and junkie needles (hence the name). Ah, lovely place to work! (Will be cleaned up for the event)