A friend added this comment in the “More Manchester Graffiti” post so I thought I would repost it here so that more people could read it!
They want to destroy Walter Kershaws Trafford Park mural. The largest piece of industrial art in europe – just because it might fall on someones’ head. They can’t get rid, Can’t they just secure the panels back on. Theres enough money knocking about in Manchester at the moment. Rather than yet another flat development site, invest in something that everyone can enjoy. I love it, In the heart of the industial wastelands you come across this 5,000 square feet brightly coloured mural. It’s ace. Walter should still be commisioned to develop another one, but additional to this not to replace it.
This mural has been part of the Trafford landscape for the past 20 years. It would be a real shame if they knocked it down! I would have thought it would be relatively easy to secure the loose panels!
Walter Kershaw (born 1940) is a celebrated Oldham-based artist who has been described as “… of an independent mind and means”. Born on the 7th December 1940, he was educated at the De La Salle College in Salford from 1951-1957, and later at Durham University from 1958-1962.
Kershaw specialises in large wall murals in oil and watercolour, and much of his work can be found locally. Large scale wall murals by him are found in Bury, Heywood, Rochdale, and Manchester, as well as nationally and abroad, including at the Trafford Centre, British Aerospace, Wensum Lodge in Northwich, Manchester United, the University of São Paulo and Metro Recife in Brazil, Sarajevo International Arts Festival, and in Bosnia.
The Trafford Park Mural was painted on the side of the building in 1982. Kershaw replaced it in 1993 when it was unveiled by football legend, Denis Law. It is reputedly the largest piece of industrial art in Europe.
His paintings have been exhibited at the Victoria & Albert Museum, the National Portrait Gallery and the Tate Gallery in London, at the British Council in Berlin and at São Paulo. He has won many prizes for his art including the Salisbury Heywood Prize, and awards from the Manchester Academy and the Gulbenkian Foundation.
Extract from http://www.manchester2002-uk.com/celebs/artists3.html
