Part I: Tour Hereford's Public Art Trail
Stunning street art & wall murals
Stroll Hereford's streets, passageways and underpasses to find amazing art from local and international artists. Uncover the city's cultural story, from heritage to nature as you spend an hour walking the trail.
Part 1 showcases eight eye-catching wall murals commissioned by Herefordshire Council and Studio Response. With many thanks to the Council and Shooting Reels for the images. To download the trail map, see link at the end of the article.
1. Ancestral Memory by Nomad Clan
Location: The Commercial, 44 Commercial Road
Manchester street art duo AYLO and Cbloxx working under the collective Nomad Clam, celebrate local folklore and heritage in their work. This mythical piece draws on the county's history, fusing Alfred Watkins' ley lines and the astronomical orientation of Arthur's Stone with the legend of the Mermaid of Marden and some of our county's native flora and fauna.
2. Our Wild Heart by Emmeline North
Location: Bastion Mews, 37a Commercial Road
Muralist and surface pattern designer Emmeline North combines architectural forms with fine botanical illustrations. This artwork is inspired by native plants found on Bartonsham Meadows mixed with the iconic structure of Canary Bridge. It symbolises the ongoign battle for nature to retain its place in the city.
3. Every Corner Holds a Memory by Estée Angéline
Location: Union Passage, 46 Commercial Street
Worcester mural artist and designer Estée Angéline uses heavy illustration, typography and bold colourful shapes in her work. Her mural is inspired by her time studying at Hereford College of Arts and the abundance of memories that surfaced when she visited the city again.
4. Tom by Gemma Flowers
Location: Booth Hall Passage, East Street
Gemma Flowers' work draws on the Booth Hall Hotel's former landlord and champion bare knuckle boxer Thomas Winter. In 1914, aged only 19, he fought and defeated another local fighter Jack Henly. The master of ceremonies at the fight asked Winter his name before introducing him and he replied, "Tom Winter". The MC turned around and said, "Well, from now on it will be Spring."
5. The People's Patch by Dermot Clarke
Location: Capuchin Lane, 28/29 High Town
Local artist Dermot Clarke likes to create fund and bold mixed media murals. His work draws on the history of Capuchin Lane and its former name 'Cabbage Lane'. Dermot has used the distinctive shapes found in this everyday vegetable to create an abstracted and contemporary design.
6. Forever Flowers (Shifting Borders) by Graphic Rewilding
Location: Eign Gate Underpass, Gunners Lane
Lee Baker and Catherine Borowski co-founded Graphic Rewilding to create vast, nature-inspired and attention- grabbing public art in overlooked spaces. Their large commission brings vibrancy, fun and colour to the underpass and shrinks the public to the size of an insect to see native flowers from a bug's eye view.
7. Cattles and Apples by Curtis Hylton
Location: The Herdsman, 54 Widemarsh Street
Curtis Hylton is skilled in creating large-scale murals using spray paint. His trademark style of fusing flora and fauna here celebrates our county's strong agricultural heritage and the site of the old cattle market directly opposite.
8. Forget Me Not by SNIK
Location: Brewer's Passage, 16 Commercial Street
Internationally-acclaimed artists SNIK combine the creation of hand-cut, layered stencils with ethereal portraiture to create haunting works. Forget Me Not portrays a figure embracing and harmonising the nature that envelops her, sybmolising all human interconnectivity with nature.
Look up! Part II of the Public Art Trail
Continue your colourful, cultural walk! Spot eight special sculptures which celebrate 170 years of creative education in the city. They draw inspiration from 17th and 18th century laws that required shops to display visual representations of their trade, crafted by artisans.
