The latest addition to the City Forest Garden (AKA Chester Supertrees) is a huge nature themed mural on the subway wall. Created by the artist Mural Minded, the work adds to the renovation of the area which began in 2019 with improved planting and landscaping, as well as the introduction of the Supertrees themselves.

Sam Ryley of City Forest Projects says that the subway wall seemed to act as a visual barrier: “We’ve been working on the gardens and site within the roundabout for ages but that wall always seemed such an uninviting visual barrier to people actually going through that way. So we got permission from CwaC to use it for artwork based on this idea of the wall breaking down to show a beautiful forest within the centre of the roundabout to fit with the Supertrees theme. The idea took a little selling but with the obvious skill of Mural minded already proven with his other amazing wildlife art in the City Forest Garden space the council were really keen in the end. It’s even better than we imagined. We really hope it brightens your day if you happen to see it when you walk past!”

The artist Sam Porter known as Mural Minded : https://muralminded.squarespace.com/ works prolifically across the UK for public and private clients.

“I went to Manchester art school , I studied fine art and printmaking. I had always dabbled in spray painting and murals. The first big one I did was for the old BBC studio on Oxford Road, which is no longer there. I was using spray paint as a medium more and more and as time went on and I got better and better at it over the years. For the past 4 years I’ve been quite successful with it. Its what I’ve always loved to do and i realised I can make a living out of it. “

He says that he grew his business via word of mouth and that he was inspired by lockdown to focus on the natural world. “During lockdown I realised I wanted to paint more wildlife and nature scenes. There were beautiful clear days when the sun was shining all the time and I thought “you can’t beat the colours and everything you see in nature”. I Particularly wanted to bring nature back into urban environments , which is very much the ethos of Supertrees I started speaking to Sam Ryley , he had seen my work and the idea started from there. When I first looked at the space It was quite a big space to bring to life.

“The first one I painted was the Blue Tit , and then a butterfly. The second time I came back I painted a bee and a hedgehog. These were painted directly onto the wall surface and then I added a drop shadow to make it look they were sitting within the environment, working within the flowers and plants that were around them, and interacting within the space.

“It took a long time to start the conversation with the council, and it had to go through a range of consultations with the general public. With the design , I wanted trees to tie in with the Supertrees and then all the other parts tied in with that. “ The fox, owl, roman altar and kingfisher were all ideas that came from the families and public of Chester at a community consultation with the artist in Feb 22. A river was added to give some continuity with the earlier mural that went up in the subway the year before showing an underwater scene by Wendy Connelly Artist. Once the final design was agreed the project was crowdfunded through the Spacehive programme and was supported by many residents and businesses alongside a large donation from the Council.

“It’s a difficult space to paint obviously because its a subway area, we had to close it off during a quite busy period. The whole time I was there, everyone in Chester seemed to love it and I got really positive feedback, people saying how good it was that this was happening in Chester and how they wanted more of it. ” says the artist. The mural will also be coated with anti graffiti varnish to deter vandals.

“There has been discussion about doing others, it could happen but it does take a lot of planning. We’re trying to beautify an area and make it more of a community space that the community can be proud of. When a lot of people are walking from the bus station they don’t know about what’s in the subway and I think this draws more people in. I’m hoping it will bring even more footfall into the space and become more of a place people deliberately go to . Having community murals has worked in other cities and creates a really good vibe that inspires people to try and do other things for themselves. People that take photos and share them are really appreciated because it boosts the interest even more, its great.

“We are hoping this can follow onto more public art. I love Chester and theres some beautiful buildings but some that could do with enlightening and bringing into the modern world! ”

Pics: Sam Ryley