Moniker Culture comes together with LeedsBID and Hilton Leeds City Hotel to bring an injection of colour and happiness to the city in the form of a public art mural, headed up by the ‘pop botanical’ style of UK artist Josephine Hicks.
Introducing: "Here We Go Now"
Combining the way-finding nature of the brief with her bold and infectious style, Josephine has created a colourful design that will transform the rear of the hotel into a vibrant painterly wonderland - bringing some colour to the street and the south exit of Leeds Station.
Standing at 20 metres tall, at its highest point, and 50 metres long, the wall in question on Little Neville Street is a bold project with a lead time of 10 days and 5 artists, led by Hicks - a designer and painter known for her large-scale murals that typically celebrate connections between nature and biodiversity in urban environments.
Jo Hicks studied Fine Art, where she first found her passion for screen printing. This, coupled with her growing ambition and influence from her brother Ed - an expert in the field of street art and graffiti - encouraged her to experiment painting at a larger scale. She continued to develop her collage methodology (where she compiles her designs by layering shapes, botanical imagery and archive photography) which is the strong foundation to her practice today - giving her work a nostalgic feel with a contemporary and surreal sensibility. Fast-forward a number of years and she has now collaborated with high profile brands, institutions, independent businesses and community groups. Producing a diverse body of nationwide commercial work in an impressively short period of time.
"The completion of this new public art mural brings a playful and vibrant energy to the south entrance of Leeds Train Station. Through my illustrations of walking fingers and rolling orbs, I wanted to convey the movement and flow of people arriving into, and departing, the city. The grand architecture of the station and Granary Wharf are referenced within the rounded archways and angular steps, whilst the colour pallet and way-finding signs give a subtle nod to the railway travel posters of the 1940s. I hope the people of Leeds enjoy viewing the mural as much as I enjoyed creating it.”
Jo Hicks, Artist
“It is great to see this mural underway, bringing some much-needed animation to an important entry point to Leeds city centre, continuing LeedsBID’s quest to add colour and creativity to the streets.”
Karen Butler, LeedsBID’s Head of Place
Jo’s unique visual style leaves audiences with space to form their own narratives, giving her work longevity and feeling of timelessness - paralleling the aims and hopes for this new public mural.
Title: Here We Go Now
Artist: @hixxy
Photography: @mcharmedia
Location: Little Neville Street, Leeds