Aberdeen artist Katie Guthrie (KMG) is almost finished turning a plain wall into a stunning work of art as part of this year’s Nuart festival.
KMG began creating a large-scale artwork on Palmerston Road, behind Union Square, on Friday and is currently finishing off the eye-catching piece.
She said: “I’m very excited (to be kicking off Nuart). I’m from Aberdeen so it feels kinda nice to be back in my hometown.
“I previously helped out other artists creating their own murals – which I really enjoyed.
“In some ways, it feels very similar because I’m back with the same team, working with some of the same people, which is quite nice but, obviously, there’s the additional excitement and a bit of stress having to work on my own piece.”
To translate this year Nuart’s theme – reconnect – into her work of art, KMG drew inspiration from her memories of Aberdeen.
She said: “My piece revolves around a memory of mine: when you used to go to the Aberdeen Market, there used to be this mural at the entrance which depicted all the kind of fishing trade, packing fish and boats.
“When I was little, living on the coast always used to remind me of Gulliver’s Travels and the thought of what’s out there and what’s beyond the horizon, so I kind of patched those two together to create this composition – it’s also touching on the social and political aspect of Gulliver’s Travels.”
KMG believes the street art festival is so popular because it brings something exciting to the city.
“I mean, not every city has large-scale murals in it,” said KMG.
“I think people are really starting to recognise the benefits and how it can uplift moods or even just cause conversation and create interactions with people and their city.”
KMG revealed her Palmerston Road mural will be finished on Tuesday.
The talented artist will start working on another piece in the city centre as part of this year’s Nuart festival later this week.
In addition to KMG, other artists – including London-based Fanakapan and Helen Bur, who has taken part in Nuart previously, will inject colour into Aberdeen with their contemporary pieces.
Stay tuned for more details. In the meantime, discover past Nuart artworks with our interactive map.
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Nuart: Local artists invited to contribute to world’s largest paste-up wall
