Watch: Maltese Artist’s Powerful Palestine Mural Takes Over South London Tunnel
From Malta to London, this local artist is taking his talents and powerful messages to an international level!
Many might remember – or still come across – the mural of a mountain of bleeding teddy bears, surrounded by blazes of fire with two small figures standing at the very peak, in Quisisana, Sliema.
Well, over the festive holidays, James Micallef Grimaud, the mastermind behind the artwork got busy recreating the profound mural overseas in the suburb of Perge in Southeast London, spreading his message and talent internationally.
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“An opportunity came up to make a quick visit to London and thought it was a good place to re-create the concept with a Christmas theme since I believed there would be more attraction and engagement over there during this season,” Micallef Grimaud told Lovin Malta.
Micallef Grimaud garnered quite the reputation over the years, with stellar works around the island like the six-storey mural at the 2B Gallery in St. Julian’s or the Giraffe Crane of the Valletta dry docks.
The recreation was first revealed online on Christmas Eve depicting the familiar sight with a festive twist.
“The teddy bears pictured are used to symbolise childhood, which in this case is more like the lack of,” Micallef Grimaud said, “Children in Palestine, more specifically in Gaza and the West Bank, have their childhood taken from them so I’ve titled it the ‘Loss of Innocence’ just to bring this staggering truth and reality that so many are facing to light.”
The blood seeping from the teddy bears in Sliema trickled onto the rocks below, an effect captured using erasable chalk.
The same effect was recreated in its English counterpart, where the blood coats a vast majority of the concrete ground below it, a truly eery sight.
Have you seen this in Sliema, London or both?
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