Food Glorious Food mural leaps in price

Food Glorious Food on Southampton Road is home to a huge mural painted by an international artist which originally cost the cafe £300.

Now, a mural of the same size would cost £4,500.

The mural features dozens of cartoon-like characters in bright colours all over the cafe wall painted by British artist Kev Munday.

The Solent University graduate is currently rated as one of the top five investable artists in the UK – and works from his studio in Basingstoke.

 

Cafe manager Martin Brookman said: "We had a plain wall and we though 'what are we going to do with that?'.

"We asked the artists to do something with it and he was there for two days.

"Its got lots of bits and pieces to it, somethings you recognise and others you don't.

"Lots of people come and ask us about it.

"Its a talking point in the cafe."

The mural, which has been signed by Kev, was painted in 2016.

Following his rapid success, the piece is now worth more than ten-times the original price.

When asked about his inspiration for the piece, Kev said: "It's a roadside cafe that a lot of people stop at to break their journey, so when I was painting it I was trying to think of all the people who would be stopping in and what their reasons for being there might be or where they were heading to."

Pictures courtesy of Kev Munday - his bin trail around Southampton city centre

In February this year, Kev turned Southampton's bins into an outdoor art exhibition.

It came as part of a two-month residency at Solent Showcase Gallery with a series of “evolving” work designed to increase city residents’ participation in the arts.

It started with a giant mural based on selfies sent to him by city art-lovers where he created a large portrait of residents in his signature style.

Local budding artists were also invited into the gallery to make their own marks on a separate canvas, using Kev’s characters as inspiration as well as taking part in a series of workshops under the theme of “stand together”.

Kev Munday. Street Jam Live! Guildhall Square, Southampton. Picture: Chris Moorhouse Saturday 25th June 2016.