One of Slough’s largest murals designed by two award-winning artists holding Guinness World Records has been unveiled.
The artwork ‘We all laugh and cry in the same language’ is located at BPS Autocare Centre on Belgrave Road.
Owner Paresh Shah commissioned Hounslow-based artists Yash Patel and Jignesh Patel, who holds five world records including the longest bubble wrap painting.
Paresh told the Express: “We run an MOT garage and have a consistently diverse customer base. We wanted to do something different.
Describing the mural, he added: “We’ve got the commercial side with paintings of cars and buildings, and we wanted to show our love for the community which is the girl on the wall.
“We wanted to invest and brighten up the area. We spend so much time at work and I wanted to give people something to stop and look at.”
Slough mayor Cllr Balwinder S Dhillon and Slough MP Tan Dhesi both showed their support at the unveiling on Saturday (October 19) which saw dozens of residents painting their national flags at the bottom of the mural.
This made the artwork a ‘true reflection of the area’s diversity and unity,’ said Jignesh.
The 52-year-old artist and teacher moved to the UK from the Indian state of Gujarat in 2006.
He works with 21-year-old architecture student Yash who has been mentored by Jignesh for eight years.
“I call myself a community artist rather than a commercial artist. I believe in inspiring others,” added Jignesh.
“Our inspiration is to bring the community together.”
The pair had the mural ‘done and dusted’ on Sunday (October 21) but unexpected rainfall during the crucial drying time ruined their 15 days of hard work despite the rainproof paint.
Repainted this week, the mural features a portrait of a young girl, smiling with a tear on her face, symbolising the ‘shared emotions of humanity’, they said.
Yash told the Express: “When we did our murals in Hounslow, we didn’t know the potential of what murals could do for the community and people in general.
“The thing about public murals is the response you get isn’t on one particular day – it’s the interactions you get on a day-to-day basis throughout the project and afterwards.”
Yash said they had more than 400 residents interact with them while painting the mural and almost had to put a sign up to reassure them the mural would return when facing setbacks from the weather.
“Those small interactions played a big part for us to continue doing this,” added Yash.
“There is a traditional way we can do art and get people to recognise our works in galleries – but the way we’ve connected with people has been completely disproportional with public murals.
“You never know what to expect with murals. There are so many things that can go right and wrong and you get so many different reactions.
“That’s the challenge of creating something that can represent everyone.”
