High tech gives mural ‘new life and new audience’
BEDMINSTER is known for its street art, and now one of its most popular sights, the Seven Sisters artwork, has been given a new lease of life.
The artwork, painted across six buildings on North Street, was created to celebrate Bristol’s female street artists. The project began at Upfest in 2016 and is now the UK’s largest female-led street art project.
Now Upfest has teamed up with Bristol VR company Zubr, supported by the West of England Combined Authority, to bring the Six Sisters mural series to life.
Using a filter created by Zubr, which can be accessed from Upfest’s Instagram account, viewers will experience the illusion of eye-popping 3D content.
Speaking on the feature, Stephen Hayles, Upfest co-founder, said: “We’re so proud of the murals that these talented artists have created. It was such an incredible moment to see the final piece finished. To be able to bring a new life and new audiences to witness this is just a brilliant thing.”
The filter aims to create a link between painting and performance, with the augmentation offering an engaging experience to its users.
The revamp came ahead of the Easter holidays, with south Bristol inviting people to come and enjoy the revamped art.
Miriam Lamnabhi, a graphic designer who worked on the transformation, said: “I have really enjoyed working on this project. Bringing the Bristol street art scene closer to residents and tourists through technology has been a lovely and rewarding experience and we’re very proud of the results.”
The works of Bex Glover, Lucas Antics, Zoe Power, Gemma Compton, Sophie Long and Ejits is a described by an Upfest spokesperson as a “culmination of creativity, talent and imagination” and will allow you to see a fox jumping, oodles of poodles running around and bumble bees in a beacon of bold colours transforming before your eyes. The project has been funded by Weca through the creative business grant, which supports business recovery, creatives and engagement with local communities.
Visit Upfest’s website at www.upfest. co.uk to get details of how each filter works.
Upfest also recently launched a crowfunder to raise funds to stage its event.
Supporters are being offered items such as the fourth edition of the official Upfest book, the opportunity to have a personal mural created by Farrah or a stencil workshop with Diff, as well as various accessories, including tote bags and caps.