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Beautiful Artwork By 'Lost Hills' Enriches A Side Road In The Commercial District
The Commercial District is the professional business and financial heart of Liverpool City Centre. Skyscrapers soar into the sky, grade listed buildings line the streets and quirky roads weave their way across the neighbourhood, such as Leather Lane and Hackins Hey.
Liverpool being its unique, self doesn't stop it's creative heart at the borders of areas where visionary Scouse urbanites congregate amidst large numbers of like-minded people in areas like The Baltic Triangle. It courses through the DNA of Liverpudlians across the famously inventive Liverpool City Region. One of those locals with a strong sense of creativity flowing through them is the eminent artist, Lost Hills.
Drawing inspiration from 'My Friend Totoro' by Japanese animation company Studio Ghibli, Lost Hills has produced a delightful piece that draws the eye when walking through the bustling Commercial District and pulls you in. From the recognisable Totoro reference to the beautifully creative and quaint personal spin that Lost Hills has added.
The facial expressions on the artwork emit such a warm and comforting feeling which is continuously emulated each time I pass a Lost Hills piece walking around town.
From the pitter patter of rain falling on the characters to the meaningful story their eyes tell, they have such a deep and close connection it can be felt and brings out the emotion in just enjoying the artwork. The poster of the Jake The Dog inspired Batman on the head of the Totoro-esq character is a subtle nod that is noticed upon closer inspection and referencing Hills' other work across the City.
If my reading of the artwork is correct, in that the blue sticker on the lamp post is in reference to the SSOSVA sticker that was placed on the wall column a couple of feet over from the artwork. This sticker is no longer however if my assertion is correct and this is a reference, technically the SSOSVA sticker still lives on in Tempest Hey.
Another one of the stickers could be in reference to the Jake The Dog artwork that lives and breathes across the city with the image seeming to resemble Jake's large eyes and snout, in addition to acknowledging Hills' paste up artistic style in which posters or cutouts are illustrated straight onto the thin paper and pasted onto the wall, alternatively the artwork can be created digitally or scanned in and then printed onto paper and pasted onto the surface.
I thoroughly enjoy seeing Lost Hills artwork all over town, it always brings a smile to my face with the intelligent use of pop-culture brought to life through original characters that Lost Hills has created and shared with us on streets that we walk down every day for us to enjoy.
Photographs by Peter Eric Lang:
Tempest Hey,
The Commercial District,
Liverpool City Centre,
City of Liverpool,
Liverpool City Region, UK.