An extraordinary mural bursting with colour and honouring some of the most iconic people, places and institutions in Hull goes on display at the brand new £36m Bonus Arena today (Monday 3 September).
The digitally designed and developed mural, commissioned by Hull City Council, has been created by designer Joseph Cox from Form Shop & Studio.
The artwork will be on permanent display at the arena, which was officially opened on Thursday night by music legend Van Morrison.
The mural has around 250 references to Hull including iconic buildings such as City Hall, Ferens Art Gallery and The New Adelphi Club, as well as references to famous Hullensians such as Luke Campbell, Calum Scott and Roland Gift.
Spiders from Mars guitarist Mick Ronson, along with his band, also features prominently in the mural, with spiders crawling all over the artwork and Mick’s iconic guitar forming its centerpiece.
Joseph said: “The hardest thing was deciding when to stop adding to it. Hull is bursting with iconic places and people and there’s so much that could go in I had to stop at some point.
“For someone who is from Hull, it has been ace to be able to showcase my art and my city in one piece. I hope visitors to the Bonus Arena enjoy hunting out the individual references as well as pointing out the ones that I have missed. One of the great things about this project is there is the potential to add to it, so it has that ability to evolve.
“I’ve spent a lot of time digging for information and stories from around the area, hopefully there will be lots of little references that will be significant to people.”
Joseph began by choosing the bigger elements in the piece before fitting into the design smaller references to the city.
Garry Taylor, city manager for major projects and infrastructure, said: “The artwork is a fantastic tribute to Hull and it’s brilliant that it will be on display at the incredible new Bonus Arena.
“Hopefully the arena will be graced by some of the city’s stars of the future who will follow in the footsteps of the legends honoured in the mural.”
The mural is on display at the Bonus Arena between the concourse and the auditorium.
Joseph wants to hear of any icons he may have missed. Tweet your own suggestions of iconic Hull places, people and cultural wonders from Hull using the hashtag #iconichull.
Joseph works from Form Shop & Studio in Humber Street, located in Hull’s Fruit Market.
The artist has also designed maps and illustrations for the Humber Street Sesh, and produced artwork for Hull’s bid entry for the City of Culture 2017 title.
For more information visit www.heyform.co.uk