The Congregation by Rudy Loewe, the new artwork at Brixton Underground station, was unveiled this morning (20 November).
Echoing the bold and colourful style of comics and illustrations, and drawing upon interviews and archival research, it is a collection of scenes which celebrate the people, places and events which make up Brixton’s character and rich history. Alongside snippets of daily life, there are stories of resistance and campaigns, of Caribbean culture, and of spirituality and faith. It is a vibrant tapestry which records the highs and lows – and the some of less well-known parts – of the life and times of the Brixton.
Loewe, a multidisciplinary artist who works across painting, drawing and sculpture, said “For my Art on the Underground commission, I wanted to capture the aliveness of Brixton. As soon as you step out of the Tube station, there’s such a rich sensorial experience and it was this that I wanted to transmute into painting. There are preachers, loud music, people singing; you can hardly walk down the street without having an unexpected conversation with someone. It makes it a very special place in London. To me, there is something about all of this that is so West Indian and that I wanted to foreground.”
An evening of conversation and film screenings relating to the new mural will take place at Brixton’s Ritzy cinema on 27 November. Further information about and tickets for this event can be accessed here
