Hidden in a corner of a park in Hackney lies one of London’s most extraordinary pieces of public art and almost nobody knows it’s there.
The Shepherdess Walk Mosaics at first glance look like Roman pavements, shepherdesses, leaves and animals, the four seasons. But look closer and you’ll spot a jogger with headphones, a skateboard, an ice cream, someone scrolling on their phone. It’s twenty-first-century Hackney, quietly disguised as the Roman Empire.
But here’s the real story: these mosaics were made by the Hackney Mosaic Project, a workshop run by the artist Tessa Hunkin for all kinds of local people, some in recovery from addiction, mental illness, and hard lives. Over two years, more than 150 folks sat together and laid 216,000 tiles by hand. A Roman pavement on the wall.
A medieval drovers’ path under your feet. And, set between them, a quiet act of community that will outlast every one of us.
📍 Shepherdess Walk Park, Hoxton N1 🚇 Old Street or Hoxton station
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