October 2018 3

I just completed my largest mural to date in the lovely town of Beeston, near Nottingham. The 35m on 8m artwork took 8 days to complete. Commissioned by Broxtowe Council and organised by the Beeston Civic Society and Beeston Street Art Festival, it features portraits of three local celebrities: Paul Smith, Richard Beckinsale and Edwin Starr. The figures are surrounded by sights from the canal and the old town as well as rays of colours. Residents were extremely enthusiastic and emotional when seeing the mural coming to life. Thank you Beeston!

“Beeston” – Zabou – 35x8m – Beeston, UK – 2018

Photo credit: 1,2 by Jansch Greatrix – 3,4,5 by Dave Silver

The first edition of the Hands Off The Wall festival took place in Vienna, gathering various female artists to paint around the city centre. To celebrate creative women, I painted three portraits: Villana (yarn artist, Mexico), Yara Shahidi (actress, model, USA) and Björk (singer, musician, Iceland). Their hands are joined together.

Carrie Reichardt and Karen Francesca, both mosaic artists from the UK, created a complex design on the lower part of the wall, featuring the words: “I’M AN ARTIST YOUR RULES DON’T APPLY TO ME”.

“I’m An Artist” – Zabou – 13x6m – Vienna, Austria – 2018

Photo credit: Zabou

The city of Villeneuve-Saint-Georges on the outskirts of Paris just opened their new “maison des artistes”, a venue for artists with facilities, classes and exhibitions. As the building has been named after Frida Kahlo, a design contest was organised to pick the portrait of the iconic Mexican artist to be painted on the side – and I was chosen to create the mural.

The artwork shows Frida Kahlo in her studio, leaning on her hand, looking away and searching for inspiration. Her expression is peaceful and happy. In the background, we can distinguish a pot of brushes and pens as well as the silhouette of a canvas. Colours are pale to fit best with the architecture of the building, dating from the 19th century and just renovated.

“Frida, in her studio” – Zabou – 8,5x8m – Villeneuve-Saint-Georges, France – 2018

Photo credit: Zabou