Exactly a year after we first spoke to Anmar Mirza in his studio, we thought it was time we caught up with this very impressive artist once again. This year has seen Anmar hold his first solo exhibition at Moosey Art Gallery, selling his work to a wide range of people, including yours truly.
Anmar is currently embarking on his biggest project to date: a monumental mural in Norwich, which will cover one wall, three stories high. This is an unprecedented project for the artist, and quite possibly the biggest piece of street art in the city. After climbing up a rickety scaffolding up to the roof, we spoke to Mirza about what’s gone into this piece.
This is the biggest project you’ve worked on so far.
It is indeed.
How did it start, man?
I literally walked by the wall, and bumped into a mate who said I should go in and ask about it. I’d been looking at this wall for the last couple of years so that day I just thought screw it, I must as well go see what happens. I spoke to Frazer (Moosey/Get Walls) got some professional backing, rang them up and they seemed to love it. So I went in, had a chat, showed them my artwork and they were sold, man. So up for it.
So who does this wall belong to?
Brambles are the original owners, but this is part of Bar Tapas and Thorns, and there’s another company called Art Angels run by Chris, him and Julie who own all of these.
So how did that conversation between you and them go down?
Yeah, Chris came in to Moosey and saw the big painting in the window. He was instantly in love with it. Linda and Julie from Bar Tapas and Brambles were really into the artwork, so we just made it happen.
What’s the inspiration behind the mural?
As a kid my mum used to tell me loads of stories, and we used to sit down and watch really vibrant cartoons. So basically the colours and the idea behind it is based in a story. There are loads of figures at the bottom of the mural looking up at this massive tale. And that tale is, well, whatever you see in front of you. If that makes any sense? So everyone has their own tale. So you’ve got the lanes, the architecture, aboriginal figures, plants, and this combination means everyone is going to have their own interpretation. Just as I have.
So is there a particular section of this which means the most to you?
I wanted a stand out piece which brought the whole rest of the mural together. To me at the minute it is a bit flat. Then I added a mint to it which made it pop. Ideally, I wanted a giant figure in the middle. At the minute, there isn’t a stand out point. Probably in the next four or five hours there will I be. I think it might be where the little lanes area is. There’s going to be something going on in the archway in there.
You’ve included these lanes, is this inspired by the local Norwich Lanes?
A little bit, yeah. Because I went to italy recently, the colours and architecture has inspired that as well. I’ve been watching loads of documentaries on Hockney, and some of the pieces, with clean cut lines, the colours react with each other so well. So all of that is also coming out in this piece.
So how much did you end up spending on paint?
Just over £300.
All spray cans?
Spray cans and emulsion.
And how many hours has gone into it so far?
So I’ve been working on it since Tuesday 5th April, so say, just over 48.
How many do you think you’ve got left?
Another 8 or 9, solid hours.
So how did it feel when you got the first paint on the wall?
Yeah, good man. But it was kinda’ a bummer because we only had black cans on the first day. None of the colours arrived until the next day. Because I was coming up just to the basic black outline and I got distracted, caught up doing massive pieces. I thought: Shit I should step back from that and wait for the colours, because it’ll end up being all black and white. I definitely think I underestimated how big the project was going to be, haha.
Anything else you’ve got going on after this, man?
A couple more commissions, and I’ve got a colouring book coming out. This is now getting funded by… an investor.
And you can’t say who that is?
No. But happy days.
Any idea when that’ll be out?
I haven’t really started that yet. Probably around christmas time.
Fantastic, well I look forward to that, dude. Thanks so much for talking to us. This is a great addition to Norwich, and we look forward to seeing the finished product.
Cheers.
(photos by Joe Harrington)
