A striking new mural has been unveiled on the side of a building in Liverpool city centre.
The giant mural, on the side of a building on Harrington Street, just off Castle Street, shows a baby swimming underwater.
It was produced by street artist Paul Curtis, 42 who is well known for creating a number of eye-catching designs including The Liverpool Wings.
Paul was commissioned by the owners of the building to create a piece of artwork that marks a new beginning.
After some design collaboration with the owners of the building and the Abbey Road Pub, located on the first floor of the premises, Paul came up with the idea to illustrate a baby swimming underwater.
Speaking to the Liverpool ECHO, Paul, who lives in the city centre said: “We went through a few designs and basically we didn’t want a rehash or redesign of anything that's been done before. We wanted something new.
“I went through a few designs and we kind of liked the baby one because it’s on the side of Abbey Road Pub and they had some involvement with the design.
“They were like ‘we like this because it’s like we are starting again’, so it’s like a fresh start and a baby kind of represents that. Especially after Covid.
“They just liked the positivity of it in the sense the city is coming alive again.
“That’s what we thought of the message behind it, we thought it would be quite apt with the lockdown ending.
“I think it’s quite a positive piece and it is like the city is going through a new start and a rebirth so I thought it would be good to represent that.”
Paul explained the reason why that particular street was chosen, adding: “Castle Street is a great street and it gets all the business and everyone loves it. But Harrington Street gets a bit ignored so the main purpose of it was to brighten up the street and try to draw people down towards the bars down there.”
The latest artwork to adorn the city is set to be called Ethan, a name which Paul revealed initially came from his sister who is expecting a baby boy in August.
He said: “My sister is having a baby and I didn’t realise she hadn’t told anyone and I accidentally announced it on social media.
“She is having a baby boy which she is going to call Ethan, so I decided to call the mural Ethan.
“That’s in my mind but I don’t want to make it too personal because the mural is for everyone and people can call the baby whatever they want.”
