A Biddulph man who hand-painted the Nemesis rollercoaster at Alton Towers to make it look more “menacing and spiky” has now seen his “incredible” mural unveiled at the town’s youth and community zone, which was blighted by fire last year.
The mural, painted by 24-year-old Ethan Lemon, who was once a regular at the youth centre and who always wanted to “get his hands on the wall”, went on display last Friday.
Chief officer of Biddulph Town Council Sarah Haydon described Mr Lemon’s creation as a “phoenix out of the flames”.
The community garden to the rear of the Church Road centre was badly damaged following an arson attack 15 months ago, which also gutted a shed containing thousands of pounds worth of equipment. Planters were also destroyed.
The garden has now been rebuilt so that residents can sit, enjoy a coffee and admire Mr Lemon’s mural, which honours Biddulph’s mining heritage.
He now works as a freelance graffiti artist, who has had work commissioned worldwide.
Mrs Haydon dubbed the artwork “incredible”, saying: “It’s like a fresh start after the fire. The blaze was a shock; to think that somebody or a group of people, whoever it was, should have affected this building so loved by the community and had that impact on it. But this mural is like a phoenix out of the flames.”
She added: “This space is important. People who come here talk about things that they wouldn’t talk about in the comfort of their own home. They come here with like-minded people, and it supports people’s mental health.”
The mural overlooks the rebuilt garden and lifelike portraits of miners form the centrepiece, with the late Claude Adams the most prominent.
Zone manager Anthony Capostagno explained that Mr Adams helped to establish the men’s group at the centre. “We had such a lot of time for Claude. He was a great guy,” he said.
Flowers also feature on the painted wall to depict the garden along with silhouettes of young people darting through the blooms.
Mr Capostagno said youngsters at the community centre loved the mural and thought it was “trendy and modern”. He said the painting was not only a “lovely piece of art” but that it had also created an opportunity for Zone members to learn more about their town’s history.
“They have been asking who is on the wall and how he links in with the centre, so we can educate the young people about the heritage of the miners.”
Proud
He continued: “I feel so proud of the whole piece, not only because I know everyone on it, but also it means a lot to me that Ethan’s done it because I was starting my career as a youth worker when Ethan used to come to the centre.”
Mr Lemon, who has recently moved from Manchester to Sheffield, said: “It was an honour to be asked to create such a large mural in my hometown, especially for the Zone.
“I grew up attending the Zone multiple times a week and Ant and former youth worker Liz Abbotts always encouraged and facilitated my creativity when it wasn’t really seen as a cool thing or a viable career.
“Ant first let me paint a mural at the centre when I was 13.”
And the artist’s auntie, Kate Simpson Smith, (50), said she was “amazed” when she saw Mr Adams on the wall and said it was “the absolute spitting image of him”.
She said: “I knew Claude when he was alive. He was a lovely man so to recognise him straight away today was amazing.”
When the “Chronicle” asked if Mr Lemon had hinted to his family what would be featured in the mural before the launch, she said: “No, I had no idea. He couldn’t even tell us. With some of his work, he must sign confidentiality agreements. When he did Nemesis at Alton Towers, he couldn’t tell us what he was working on for nearly 12 months.
“Ethan is good at keeping secrets, but I knew it would be something to do with mining because he’s got a huge interest in mining and pot banks.”
Mr Lemon’s mum, Emma Simpson, (53), said she was “proud” of her “passionate” and “creative” son. She recalled the time when he started out and she helped him to promote his work by doing leaflet drops and distributing his business cards to local shops.
The sisters said the whole family has treasured framed portraits in their homes of granddads and great-granddads painted by Mr Lemon.
The graffiti artist’s grandfather John Simpson, (80), added that his grandson’s work was nothing short of “brilliant”.
(Photo: Outside).
