Bristol-based artists Stewy and Alison Larkman have recently created a 4.5 metre mural of Alice in Wonderland peeking into an oddly-placed window from behind a large curtain, on the corner of Lindrea Street and Agate Street in Bedminster.
Alison Larkman said in an interview with BBC, that she got the idea to create this mural after months of being in lockdown and felt this period of isolation needed to be memorialised. Her idea was at par with the odd feeling that has accompanied the pandemic, and she was quoted saying “Alice fitted well as the story itself deals with scale but also the oddness of it all which is what I feel about this time.”
The artwork shines a contrast to the quarantine as you can see Alice peering into the house rather than the image of most people sitting at their windows during quarantine, looking outside.The work of art is a scaled-up version of the original drawing done by John Tenniel, who was the illustrator for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. The mural differs from the original by replacing the illustrated door with an oddly-placed window at the side of the house.
The street artist Stewy said in an interview with BBC that he has to divide the stencil into individual sections like a jigsaw while making the mural. He also commented that “The mural is public, free and inclusive. A large street mural can communicate instantly and can brighten up the area.”
Stewy is also known for his characteristic psychograhic life-size stencils of groundbreaking rebels and revolutionary people. From Patti Smith, Yoko Ono and the Bronte Sisters, the street artist has made quite a portfolio for himself.