An eye-catching new mural has sprung up on one of Liverpool's best-known streets.
The "Lady of Lark Lane" mural has just been finished and is located above the Number 13 gift shop, at 13 Lark Lane. Shop owner Phil Southall was keen to see a mural above his shop for years but wanted something associated with the community and location.
Painted by artist Liam Bononi and commissioned by Phil, the mural signifies hope and is meant to celebrate the meaning of the lark from which the street takes its name historically.
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Phil Southall, 54, told the ECHO: “Because it’s been such a terrible few years, I wanted to do something special for everybody.
“The lark is referred to in WW1 poetry because they could still hear lark when there was a break from the fighting”.
In poems of this nature, the skylark’s song is referred to as a moment of tranquillity and peace on the battlefield. Painter Liam Bononi said one of the main poems that inspired the mural was the classic work The Lark Ascending by George Meredith.
This serenity is referred to in the Anfield anthem You’ll Never Walk Alone, which is why its line "the sweet silver song of a lark" features at the bottom of the mural. Phil said the mural “transcends football, and once again it’s about helping each other out”.
The golden cracks in the face are inspired by Japanese porcelain art, where Phil said “if you break something and stick it back together, it becomes stronger. We’ve had some awful times, but as a community, we can come back stronger”.
Some online had speculated that the Lady of Lark Lane was a tribute to Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian woman who died after being detained by the Iranian Morality Police for not wearing her hijab correctly. However the model for the mural is, in fact, Phil’s daughter Augusta.
Phil said the painting was non-religious and that he hoped those of any faith can “say a prayer to the Lady of Lark Lane" before going out to enjoy themselves in the Lane's bars and restaurants.
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