Walthamstow Based Artist Adriana Jaros Selected to Design Two Murals at Pocket Living’s Forest Road Development.
- The murals will be unveiled at the first-time buyer development early in 2024 -
CGI showcasing Pocket Living’s Forest Rd development.
In partnership with innovative housing developer Pocket Living, Hive Curates hosted a competition amongst local artists based in Waltham Forest to design two murals for the new first-time buyer development Forest Road in Walthamstow. The open call received an overwhelming response, with over fifty exceptional applications and 19 entrants long listed.
Self portrait © Aloha Bonser-Shaw
Venezuelan interdisciplinary artist, Adriana Jaros, was selected as the final appointed artist after the artists’ work was judged by a panel of design and property experts. This included representatives from Hive Curates, and architecture studio Gort Scott, as well as the Pocket Living team.
What struck the panel was Adriana’s ability to use her practice to retell stories through an abstract lens, connecting to the architectural language of the building and reflecting Walthamstow’s biodiversity.
Adriana uses colour and visual language as a means to connect with the world and our senses. Working at the intersection of art and experience she imagines worlds or objects that can become moments of joy, new experiences that enhance our wellbeing.
Associate Andrew Tam at Gort Scott said: “We’re delighted that Adriana has been selected for the murals at Forest Road. Her proposal’s connection to both the natural and social landscape of Walthamstow stood out to us, linking to the local area’s Arts and Crafts heritage with forms that create a dialogue with our building’s curved precast concrete features”.
During numerous site visits Adriana has been working with the contractors to collect discarded bricks, metal, concrete and other site materials, so they can be ground into pigments that inform the mural colour palette, further connecting to the language of the building.
When asked about the project the artist said: “I intend to evoke the intrinsic properties of the environments around us, as a reflection of the joy, depth, character and diversity of the area. How do we connect to our physical surroundings through colour?”
Adriana will now be inviting communities to join a workshop where they can develop their own colour pigments from the physical and local surroundings in Waltham Forest. The workshop will be a discovery of how to create colour from organic matter, like plants, soil and rocks. She hopes local residents will get involved in influencing the direction of the mural via the workshops that root communities in an exploration and study of the environments around them.
The composition of the final designs will take inspiration from nearby places like Walthamstow’s wetlands, a defining feature of the borough. Like these waterways, Adriana is hoping the murals will offer a moment of reflection and serenity to local residents.
Tina John, Architectural Design Manager at Pocket Living, adds: “We were extremely impressed with the quality of the proposals we received and would like to thank the local creative communities for their involvement.
“At Pocket, our aim is to Create great places for people to live in, we believe that each development should relate to its surroundings and help the new residents integrate with the local communities; no two buildings should ever be the same. We are huge advocates of the city and take great care in our approach to reinvigorate underused sites in urban areas. Adriana’s murals are set to do just that, by bringing together local residents along with the natural and social elements of the area. We look forward to seeing how her designs evolve.”
If you live in Walthamstow and would like to take part in the upcoming workshop 4th May 17:30-20:30 at Le Délice in Lloyds Park please register for a free ticket. HERE