Date: June 2023
Location: Surrey Lane Estate, Wandsworth, London, United Kingdom
Client: Wandsworth Council
Contractor: Hill Residential Ltd

A part of the public art commission for Wandsworth Borough Council won by Maria Gasparian Studio, this graphic artwork was an outcome of engagement with the local community.

Created collaboratively by Maria Gasparian, graphic artist Augusta Akerman and the students of local Saint John Bosco College, it aimed to reflect on local heritage, connect to the local community and to create a vibrant intervention to improve the public realm.

The artwork was inspired by the legacy of Victorian mosaic manufacturers Jesse and Henry Rust, who produced colourful vitreous mosaics (tesserae) in Battersea and lived on Randall Street, located on what is now the Surrey Lane Estate.

Saint John Bosco College year 10 GCSE art students used printmaking techniques during several creative workshops to create their own mosaic patterns and motifs. The colours were inspired by the colour palette of the Rust Company mosaics.

The prints produced by the students were used to create two large-scale canvases that have been printed and installed on hoarding sections surrounding the construction site of the new development. The artwork can be seen on Battersea Bridge Road and within the Surrey Lane Estate throughout 2023 and into 2024, while construction is taking place. The permanent artwork designed by Maria Gasparian Studio will be installed within the public realm on the site in 2024.