Thamesmead underpasses are getting a coat of paint
As part of a major redevelopment of the area, a new series of murals was commissioned to decorate the canal walkways around the residential complex in south east London
As the filming location for Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange, the TV drama Misfits and the music video for Come to Daddy by Aphex Twin, Thamesmead is perhaps one of the most iconic areas of London that few have visited. The residential complex near Greenwich, built in the 1960s, is some distance from bridges to the north side of the Thames, and the underground stations once planned for the area were never completed.
In addition to residential buildings and everyday amenities, the complex includes five large lakes, a nature reserve, and a four-mile network of canals connected by a network of underpasses.
Mural by Paige Denham
Thamesmead is undergoing a major renovation. As part of this, eight of these canal underpasses have been redesigned thanks to artists Jo Peel, Hixxy, Xenz and Louis Masai, as well as lifelong Thamesmead resident and designer Paige Denham, who created living murals to adorn the walls of the underpass.
Despite the proximity to nature and wildlife in Thamesmead, the complex is known for its brutalist architecture. The new murals give the concrete landscapes a warm dose of color that complements rather than hides.
Mural by Jo Peel
Mural by Louis Masai
Mural by Hixxy
thamesmeadnow.org.uk