Huge outdoor artwork takes over Wirral waterfront for UK first

September 2, 2019
Editor

One of Europe’s most exciting artists has taken over Wirral waterfront, creating an extraordinary large-scale mural on ‘The Dips’ in New Brighton.

Saype – who started his career as a graffiti artist – has quickly emerged as one of the hottest names in art and was recently named as one of the 30 most influential people in art and culture under 30 by Forbes Magazines.

The piece is Saype’s first major work in the UK and comes straight after his most high-profile commission to date under the Eiffel Tower in Paris, which received international coverage in June.

Giant biodegradable landart painting by French-Swiss artist Saype, picture taken between June 9 and 12, 2019 on the Champ de Mars in front of the iconic Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. With an overall area of 15’000 square meters, the 600 meter long and 25 meter wide painting (likely one of the largest of it’s kind) was created using biodegradable pigments made out of charcoal, chalk, water and milk proteins. This art piece launches the worldwide project “Beyond Walls” aiming at creating the longest symbolic human chain around the world promoting values such as togetherness, kindness and openness to the world. (VFLPIX.COM /Valentin Flauraud)

His huge artworks – the piece in Wirral is in an excess of 5,000 sqm – and was made by spraying a 100% biodegradable paint made with pigments from chalk and charcoal, directly onto grass to create iconic images best seen from above. Each of the artworks then disappear over a few days.

The commission is co-produced by Wirral Council and Culture Liverpool and is inspired by the themes of exploration and discovery which define Wirral’s year as Borough of Culture for the Liverpool City Region.

The artwork has been created on The Dip closest to New Brighton Promenade.

The commission kicked off a September to remember in Wirral which includes the all-new Wirral Food and Drink Festival which took place on Saturday 7 & Sunday 8 September; Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra open air concert on Saturday 7 September and Lightning Seeds, The Christians & China Crisis on Sunday 8 September, all in Birkenhead Park) and the OVO Energy Tour of Britain on Wednesday 11 September (various locations across Wirral).

Lucy Barrow, Assistant Director for Culture and Visitor Economy at Wirral Council said: “We are so excited about working with Saype. His artworks are awe-inspiring in their size and we can’t think of a more innovative way to showcase the beauty of this stretch of our waterfront to audiences around the world during our Borough of Culture year. It’s been great to build on our relationship with the team at Culture Liverpool through this project and I can’t wait to see the finished image.”

The Borough of Culture initiative was introduced by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and is designed to encourage cultural activities across the region. Visit www.imaginewirral.com for the latest information.