Beloved Aardman characters appear in new mural

Some of the UK’s most beloved characters feature in a huge new mural in Bristol’s city centre.

Wallace and Gromit, Shaun the Sheep, Morph and Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget all tower above passers-by in a 11.5 mural on Quakers Lane in Broadmead.

The 11.5 metre creation celebrates Aardman Animations, the Bristol animation studio behind the well-known characters, and was made in collaboration with Upfest, Europe’s largest street art festival which is due to return to Bedminster this year.

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Upfest and Aardman hoped to create a graffiti artwork that celebrated some of the “greats” from the company’s films.

Illustrator Lorna Harrington and mural artist Dave Bain in front of Wallace and Gromit – photo: George Jones

The characters are interspersed with famous Bristol locations including the suspension Bridge, the city’s balloons, and Bristol Royal Hospital for Children, a nod to Aardman’s charitable relationship with the hospital.

Based on the original artwork conceived by designer and illustrator Lorna Harrington, her work was brought to life by local artist Dave Bain over two weeks with the help of other local illustrators and painters.

Bain and his team gave the pre-existing “Bristol” sign beneath a new lick of paint, and added “Made in” as a nod to Aardman’s home in the city.

“The mural sums up what Aardman does, its creativity in Bristol, and bringing this together with model making, animation and film,” said Dave.

“The way that the mural has come together on this massive wall has been amazing,” added Lorna.

“I love being here and seeing the amount of people walking past this wall and smiling, and standing underneath the rainbow for a selfie moment.”

“It’s quite a hidden area, so you’re walking through the centre and you see this colour.”

The mural will be on display at Quakers Friars indefinitely, and coincides with the release of Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget on October 14.

Main photo: Plaster

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