A tribute to ‘The Godfather of Street Art’ has been unveiled in Birmingham thanks to the latest collaboration between Elevate Property Group and local artist Jim Kerr.
The leading Midlands independent developer, which recently completed its 1000th new home, commissioned the Seven9Signs entrepreneur to paint seven ‘Pointy’ illustrations of a man and a lady at its hugely popular Priory House development in the Southside of the city.
Inspired by and in the style of the late Richard Hambleton, the seven 3 metre x 1.5m commissions will be enjoyed by residents and people in nearby apartments.
The art also pays homage to the original 1950s illustrations discovered on signs found during the strip out of the buildings and accentuates the forensic science laboratory theme that celebrates the former use of the buildings.
It took Jim just seven days to hand paint the installation and marks the ninth collaboration between the two parties as they look to create a trail of urban myths for local people, visitors and tourists to enjoy.
Steve Dodd, founder of Elevate Property Group, explained: “Our focus is on creating developments that bring redundant building backs to life and get people talking. The Urban Myths installations in Birmingham are really adding to the conversation.
“The first artwork, ‘Less is more, more or less’, appeared on the back of the Concord House development on Holloway Head and was a bit of a subliminal message from us and this is the path we’ve followed in our other landmark installations that are featured across the city, including our huge Peaky Blinders mural located at the back of our offices on St Paul’s Square.”
He went on to add: “Priory House is different to the rest, as we’ve tied in the forensic labs history of the building with a tribute to Richard Hambleton, a Canadian-born artist known as The Godfather of Street Art and believed to be a major inspiration to ‘Banksy’.
“The seven pointy illustrations have been hand-painted and are framed in steel to give a stunning installation for current and future residents to enjoy at the 77,000 sq ft building. It’s another individual stamp on Elevate’s growing portfolio.”
Jim is the talented local artist bringing the Urban Myths collection to life and is one of the few remaining traditional sign writers and gilders in the West Midlands.
The 43-year-old is passionate about keeping the hand-painted techniques alive and the work he is doing on some of Birmingham’s most iconic new developments is helping to draw attention to the craft with major interest in the statements and murals across all social media channels.
“My first commission from Steve was in 2015 and it has really taken off from there,” added Jim.
“The ‘myths’ are huge and in such prominent locations that they’re difficult to miss. The ambiguity of the pieces encourages people to question their meaning and, the fact they are hand painted, sparks the debate about how they got there and who painted them. It’s a great way to get people to further engage with the architecture of their city.
“Hopefully, it will inspire more people to look at this as a possible career and more organisations to invest in traditional sign writing as a way of promoting their businesses or developments.”
He concluded: “Richard Hambleton was one of the originators of street art and a phenomenally talented artist, so I feel very privileged to have had the opportunity to paint this tribute to his work – here in the UK’s second city that I now call home.”
The regeneration of Priory House has created 79 unique 1, 2 and 3-bedroom apartments, many with city skyline views, terraces, balconies, and a podium garden for the residents.
95% of the building has been sold, with strong interest from both owner occupiers and investors alike.
