French Street Artist Nerone, who has made his name well-known in Shoreditch street art scene and Brick Lane for his strking, colourful murals has unveiled the UK’s largest clean air mural. The project at The Bulb, Southampton is part of the £3.5m transformation of Nelson Gate into a new STEM community hub by FI Real Estate Management.
The 1,005 sq m mural used Graphenstone CO2 absorbing paint. These unique lime-based paints absorb CO2 as they cure, as part of the natural lime cycle (the majority in the first 30 days following application). It is estimated that the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed by The Bulb mural will be around 65kg a year. This is equivalent of three grown trees, making it the largest clean air mural in the UK.
The mural, which covers the Grade A office building has introduced a splash of colour and a cool, tropical aesthetic to the city. Nerone’s signature tropical flowers which have frequented the streets of East London, now intertwine with female portraiture and wrap the building beautifully.
The piece took Nerone and the team from Lawless Studio® three weeks to complete. The mural creation was complemented by a series of community workshops and events which ran throughout the project. The final design was selected by the public, with over 10,000 votes cast.
Nerone says ‘It took 17 intense days working on this massive piece, sometimes feeling like a mountain climber because the wind and height of the building. But my team from Lawless Studio and I are really happy and proud with the result.
Especially because we have used ecological paint, so we can proudly say it’s a green piece of art!
This giant project is definitely something I’ll take into account in my future work, Thinking about our planet is not a choice, it’s a must.’
