Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Community united by artworks
A MURAL made up of almost 2,000 paintings from individuals across the world has been unveiled in Brechin.
The Scotland Connects National Mural Mosaic was revealed to the public last night at The Crickety in a celebratory ceremony.
Depicting the tree of life, the mural is pieced together with thousands of submitted pieces of artwork from adults and children across the globe.
Many have a Scottish theme, with Highland cows and landscapes featuring, while other tiles are decorated with pop singer Harry Styles and a scarecrow.
It was then the job of American artist Lewis Lavoie to take the images and piece them together in a “cohesive” way.
Lewis invented the mural mosaic process and hopes to bring people together in a way that pays tribute to individual perspectives and experiences. He has been producing murals across the world for more than 20 years, with the first one popping up in 1997 in St Albert in Canada.
Lewis says the paintings all look “fabulous”, with his favourite pieces including thistle artwork.
The Brechin mural, a collaboration between Mural Mosaic’s Global Roots Project and the Brechin Community Hub, has been a year in the making. It is hoped the artwork will act as a “symbol of unity and coming together as one” after the devastation faced during Storm Babet.
Mural Mosaic has been creating art that celebrates “unity and diversity” through mosaic productions throughout the world since 2003.
Brechin’s unveiling is one of five across the UK and Ireland, with each having a spring opening.
Lewis, lead artist and designer, said the murals have been “really well received”.