(Click to enlarge this portrait of those involved in making the mosaic)
It was my pleasure to take a trip to Tottenham recently to spend an afternoon at the Mental Health Unit where Tessa Hunkin and the members of the Hackney Mosaic Project have been working with patients and staff over fourteen weeks through the summer to create a new mosaic entitled The Garden of Hope.
At the centre of the unit is a yard enclosed by buildings on all sides and lined with astroturf. Through discussion, the notion of conceiving of this space as The Garden of Hope arose and the heartfelt iconography of the mosaic was devised, featuring a pair of lions as representatives of the residents at the unit, with open gates and road leading to a white tower incarnating the possibility of reaching a better place.
Rosalie Simpson served rice and beans and we sat at long tables to eat our food in celebration of the joint achievement. Everyone was extremely proud of the beautiful mural that has been created and the collective desire that it represents in such poignant fashion, and – at this particular moment in a troubled year – it is a sentiment we can all understand.
Rosalie Simpson cooked up rice and beans in celebration of the completion of the mosaic
(Click to enlarge and study the mosaic in detail)
THE HACKNEY MOSAIC PROJECT is seeking commissions, so if you would like a mosaic please get in touch hackneymosaic@gmail.com
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The Mosaic Makers of Hackney Downs