A hidden lane in Cardiff has been transformed with street art, bringing joy to local residents. Colourful and whimsical murals adorn the alleyway behind Shirley Road in Roath, exploring a variety of universal themes, like community, nature and connection.
One of the paintings even depicts some of the residents themselves who live on the street. Artist Alex Pawson is the main driver of the project, which started during the Covid pandemic. "I've always like drawing and painting and then about ten years ago, when I was abroad, I started painting on walls. I really liked that and just kept going from there," said Alex, 35, who is originally from London.
He moved to Cardiff three years ago and started working as a support worker, first in a community house, then in a psychiatric hospital, looking after people with autism, learning difficulties, challenging behaviours or mental illness. When the lockdown hit in 2020, he was searching for activities to keep the people he worked with entertained.
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"I started doing spray-painting lessons with the guys - we did murals inside the [community] house. It went so well the managers said to keep going. I put on Facebook that I was l was looking for walls to paint in the community, rather than behind closed doors."
One of the people who responded to Alex's call-out was Eva Elliott, one of the residents of Shirley Road, who directed him to the inconspicuous lane behind the street. And so the project with born, and Alex brought the service users and patients down to transform the space.
Sadly the walls in the lane had to be re-rendered and the paintings were destroyed, so they had to repaint them. Today the alleyway boasts more than ten murals, created by Alex, his patients, and other artists over the last year.
One of the most striking pieces is a celebration of the community of Shirley Road - capturing how they came together during the lockdown. The idea for it came after Alex asked Eva what the residents wanted to be painted on the lane.
"They were talking about the processions they were very proud of in the lockdown," he said. A number of times during the lockdown, two dhol drummers who lived nearby - Raj Singh and his father - kept spirits alive, making music as they led a procession along Shirley Road.
Residents of the street followed in their wake, and some even wore fancy dress for the occasion - one person dressed as a clown and another in a dinosaur costume. Alex's mural captures the fun and uplifting occasion, which the residents remember fondly.
Raj, who owns Asian entertainment company SP Entertainment, said being depicted in the painting was "really unexpected". "It was a special feeling doing it at the time and it's nice to see it appreciated in the artwork," he added. "[The project] is definitely uplifting from a community perspective...it brings the community together."
Eva, 63, is also depicted in the mural as one of the residents taking part in the procession. Asked what she thought of being featured, Eva, who is a retired university researcher, said: "It wasn't something that I was expecting. It was a total surprise and a nice surprise. I think it's there because it's all about how Alex encountered people in Shirley Road and his perceptions...it's wonderful. It's lovely to have it there."
Speaking about the transformation of the lane as a whole, she added: "It's become a place that really looks beautiful and is a place that we like to meet. I think the lanes are an underused resource and this is a resource for us. But more than that, it's a public space, we haven't shut it off, and it's a place that anyone can come and look at and admire, and it gives us a good reputation. Shirley Road is a beautiful place to live and we want everyone to see that it's a beautiful place to live - it expresses how we feel about each other: bright and cheerful."
Jan Evans, another resident on Shirley Road, is also featured in the procession mural. She is a famous face along the street, because she sits in front of her house while she smokes - all day, every day, for the last ten years.
Alex's painting of Jan shows her doing just that - sitting on her chair with a cigarette in hand as she gazes at the procession. She first saw the painting two months ago when her granddaughter took her to see it in her wheelchair. "It was fun. And I'm thinking now, when I'm dead, all the kids in the street can say: 'I know nanny Jan,'" she laughed. "The one thing I loved about it - I've got thick lips. I've never had thick lips!"
Other paintings by Alex along the lane that people have asked for include one of Aneurin Bevan and one of flowers. The former is a request from GP who used to live on the road. . "He said that he really liked my work, and he would like me to do a painting of Aneurin Bevin because he's someone who's important to him."
The latter was a request from 83-year-old Shirley Road resident Mohammed Taj. Bright flowers and leaves decorate the back wall of Mohammed's house, where he has lived for about 20 years.
His son, Niaz Taj, who lives with him, said the mural had had a "positive impact" on his father - and the flowers were in fact a a refreshing change from the racist graffiti that Mohammed had seen in the past, including on that very wall.
"I myself and my siblings remember my father handing us a pot of white paint or black paint and telling us to start painting this wall - normally on the back door. There was was a lot of it on the back lanes and as kids we probably didn’t really understand so much then," said Niaz, 54.
"My father is now in his 80s and he found it ironic that’s taken so long for people to understand that peace and living in harmony is the way. That is for me what the mural has done - it’s created a peaceful and harmonious space for those who take the time to walk through...it’s good for his wellbeing as well, just wheeling him round and having a look - he really enjoyed it."
Some of the other murals along the lane were created by other artists - including a 14-year-old schoolgirl - either in collaboration with Alex or on their own. The paintings have attracted the attention of local primary schools, with pupils brought down the marvel at them during lessons.
On April 23 residents and visitors gathered to celebrate the launch of a soundscape, 'Whispering Walls', which was created to complement the murals. You can listen to the soundscape here - it was created by artists Charlotte Lewis and Luke Davies and explains the origin of and stories behind the project.
The murals as a whole explore a variety of universal and timeless subjects, such as community, family, connection, love, nature and the universe. "I try to deal with those kind of subjects. And then with regards to the meaning, that's what I like to leave it open. I like it because then people can project what they want onto it," said Alex.
Through the project, he has got to know the residents of Shirley Road - almost becoming an honorary resident. "Alex has become quite a feature of the neighbourhood, because every now and then he pops along and people give him coffee, cake, beer," said Eva.
Last year, Alex won the Outstanding Achievement Award at the Advancing Healthcare Awards (AHA) Cymru for using art to support the people he looked after when he worked as a carer. His distinctive artwork is not limited to the alleyway and be found elsewhere across the city.
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