Title: Hydrangea aspera
Location: London, UK
Artist: Thiago Mazza (Brazil)
For: 195 Mare Street
Year: 2023
Photo Credits: Thiago Mazza
“I would like to say a huge thank you to Elizabeth and Duncan for giving me the incredible opportunity to paint this wonderful house. The dedication and care they had with this project brought me nothing but good feelings. After 2 months traveling I felt my heart at peace to paint. The “saudade” of my family, my tired body, the loneliness of the long journey were all filled with the affection I received for everyone who was part of those days at 195 Mare Street.
Thank you Elizabeth for the impeccable production! I share her words about my wall.
“As we learnt about the history of Mare Street, we discovered its amazing botanical past. Over on the other side of the street, #loddigesnursery imported and traded plants from all over the world for nearly a century. It was one of the largest nurseries of its time, introducing new plants to Europe – wisteria, bamboo, palms, ferns, hydrangeas.
Inside 195 Mare Street, there are traces of flower wallpaper – ferns above doors, leaf patterns inside cupboards and roses around fireplaces. The house and garden must once have been filled with plants from Loddiges.
Our bad wall gave us the opportunity to retell Loddiges’ story, bringing colour and nature back to Mare St. The movement of plants is a great metaphor for the diversity of the people of Hackney, who have migrated here from around the world. Mare St is home to many people from south-east Asia and there are thriving Vietnamese businesses all around us.
So we chose to paint cây tú cầu/繡球花/hydrangea. With origins in China and Vietnam, it honours our neighbours and their migration to Hackney.”
Elizabeth Prochaska”
Thiago Mazza
USEFUL LINKS:
Thiago Mazza in this blog | Website | Flickr | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook fan page
Categories: OperArt, Street art
Barbara Picci 