Street art mural unveiled in Slough aims to give town 'new identity'

A new mural has been unveiled outside The Future Works building in Brunel Way, and aims to be the first of many public street artworks across Slough.

The ArtScape mural, a project run by the Slough Hub, was revealed to the public in a ceremony today (August 3).

Simrah Ahmed, who goes by the name Y3LLOW on Instagram, is the artist behind the project.

Slough-based financial services company, the Quadrin Group, commissioned the mural after founder, Suleman Baig, had a vision to introduce street art to Slough and came across Simrah’s work at the Slough Hub.

She said: “The idea was to create bold, timeless street art that is engaging and relatable to everyone from all walks of life and I feel we did just that.

“Street art can be challenging because you are in direct contact with the viewers. I am very pleased with the finished product and I was overwhelmed by the kind and encouraging feedback I received.”

Simrah said she built a strong community while creating the mural, some of whom had never participated in art before.

“To me this is what the essence of street art is,” she added.

After discovering she had dyslexia while studying at Central Saint Martins, Simrah said she ‘found her artistic voice’ by using abstract art and text manipulation to depict her experiences, while invoking awareness of mental health.

“My work embodies abstract art. My aim is to make art relatable to everyone, especially younger generations. I believe abstract art can rekindle our intuitive minds and allow ourselves to feel emotions,” Simrah said.

Her work has been exhibited at various galleries including the Pitzhanger in Ealing.

Suleman Baig said: “With a piece of art, the idea is to get the community engaged and get people talking, but hopefully inspire other businesses to also commission work, and have street art popping up all over.

“It’ll give the town an identity and make the environment a bit nicer. We want Slough to be associated with

creativity.”