This mural is based on a photo Axel Void took in a slum known as G.S. Nagar in Chennai, India. The wall is situated in a very lively neighborhood near Wood Street. It is full of local businesses such as restaurants or small markets, excluding large corporations.
It is interesting to see the mostly harmonious interaction between neighbors in such area. Kids play cricket in this parking lot, the employees rest in their cars before they do their shift, a neighbor does pushups on the parking door entrance, a family excessively feeds the pigeons several times a day, and the employees from the Turkish restaurant insist in giving me some of their delicious lamb even before they knew he would be painting.
Given England’s history as a colonizer and their recent division from Europe, the image creates a strong cultural contrast as well as proposing an analogy with other neighborhoods where he felt this kind of welcoming. Never the less this mural is about every day life.
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