New Wallace and Gromit mural appears in Bristol
Posted on: 22 May 2017The mural, painted by renowned Bristol street artist Cheo, is situated on Newfoundland Street in St Pauls and features the darling Aardman duo rocking tracksuits and bling.
Plasticine is a medium which generally confines its characters to a diminutive size - and Wallace and Gromit, inarguably the most beloved of these, are no exception, with their working figurines no bigger than a coffee cup.
That all changed overnight however, as a four storey mural of the inventive pair sprung up on a building in St Pauls, giving them the grand stature that they deserve. Painted by renowned local street artist Cheo, the piece shows Wallace and Gromit in uncharacteristically cool attire – they both sport tracksuits and heavy gold bling, while Wallace is carrying a boombox.
The devious Feathers McGraw, primary antagonist in The Wrong Trousers, also appears alongside his one-time housemates – could this be taken as a subtle hint at the identity of the next Aardman public arts trail? Cheo previously painted Wallace and Gromit by the Fountains to coincide with the first trail, Gromit Unleashed, in 2013. This was joined by a similar image of Shaun the Sheep, painted immediately prior to his subsequent feature two years later.
.jpg "Shaun the Sheep Bristol")
Does this mean that Feathers could be the latest of Aardman’s trailblazers, to be replicated extensively throughout Bristol? Speculation has given the dastardly penguin good odds of following in the footsteps of Gromit and Shaun the Sheep.
Check out the mural and make up your own mind. It can be found on the side of the offices of WC Duke on Newfoundland Street. Do you agree with our shortlist of potential candidates for the next Aardman trail?
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An ardent Geordie minus the accent, Sam seemingly strove to get as far away from the Toon as possible, as soon as university beckoned. Three undergraduate years at UoB were more than ample time for Bristol (as it inevitably does) to get under his skin, and so here he remains: reporting, as Assistant Editor, on the cultural happenings which so infatuated him with the city. Catch him at sam@365bristol.com.
