Bournemouth Council has commissioned local urban artist, ‘Soap’, to paint a spectacular mural based on local images down the entire side of Pokesdown for Boscombe Rail Station.
Professor Green. Image from Soap’s Facebook page
Adam Klodzinski, aka ‘Soap’, originally from Poland, is now based in Pokesdown. Soon turning 30, Adam is about to embark on the biggest area to paint he has ever had, with only himself and one ‘writer’ from his crew back in Poland.
Colouring his hometown with spray paint since the age of 14, he’s excited about lighting up the area.
“I want to bring graffiti to Bournemouth and the UK; you need some proper art here. You have it in Brighton and London but not properly round here” he told BHbeat.
The station wall measures 450 square metres and so far, 200 cans of acrylic paint have been ordered, with a potential need for double the amount.
The actual mural will feature a huge eye, acting as the focal point for the piece, and each image will be within a postcard, highlighting Bournemouth’s past to the left of the eye, and its present and future to the right.
Soap won backing for the scheme from the council last year and visited local schools and the local community asking for their ideas and photographs to inspire his final creation.
A particularly striking element of the mural will be the 3D version of Boscombe Pier, to be painted in the backward dip of the station wall. The idea is that as people get off the train they will feel as though they are stepping straight onto the seafront.
Councillor Ian Lancashire, Cabinet Member for Arts and Culture said: “This is a really fantastic community project that is set to transform the train station in Boscombe.”
Soap has just five weeks to paint the 450 square metres of white wall
Adam grew up in Bydgoszcz, Poland and was always interested in art from an early age, practicing on buildings and street corners whenever he could.
“Graffiti is everywhere in Poland, and the buildings were just brilliant surfaces, you could just go down in the middle of the day and start spraying.”
He has also done a lot of work with celebrities, having just finished a commission for musician Goldie, rapper Professor Green and BBC Radio 1 presenter Mista Jam. His next goal is to paint Rihanna at the V festival this year.
Work began at Pokesdown station on Monday 13th June, and already there has been great interest from commuters, who were stopping to take photographs and ask questions. BHbeat.com will be following his progress over the next five weeks.
In the meantime, keep an eye out for Soap’s ‘Pride of Bournemouth’ lion, which will be released in the town this Friday as part of the public art event.
To see Soap’s previous work check out his facebook page here
Everything on the left of the eye symbolizes Bournemouth’s past, and the right, Bournemouth’s future