Massive Batman mural transforms shop wall by County Ground

A group of local artists have used the DC comic book characters to brighten up the street-facing wall of Burdens Electronics, opposite the County Ground football stadium.

Joining Batman on the wall are some of his iconic villains, The Joker, The Penguin and The Riddler.

One of the artists involved, Nathan Jacka, said that it was done to try and help improve moods and mental health in Swindon by making the town look nicer. 

Nathan, who goes by Jaksta Art, painted the Batman, Penguin and Joker profiles, while fellow street artist Ed Poster did The Riddler.

Street artist Nathan Jacka hard at work on a different piece (Image: Nathan Jacka/Facebook)

The mural is then finished off with artistic graffiti tags done by artists Omar, Dopes and another unnamed contributor. 

Nathan said: "We wanted it to be visible in an area where people could see it and really wanted to improve the area visually and make it more vibrant, which I strongly believe helps with mental health.

"Because the area is generally busy with football and passing traffic, we thought it's not just the locals that could appreciate it."

The group identified the wall as a good canvas for what they wanted to do and approached shop owner Mr Burden and asked for his permission, after seeing the design he gave the project a thumbs up. 

"We chose Batman because the Batman films often touch on mental health with the recent Batman and the Joker film, for example.

"And it is easily recognisable and also appeals to people of all ages."

Another angle of the massive Batman mural on County Road, opposite the County Ground football stadium (Image: Newsquest)

It took the group almost an entire week from start to finish to complete the mural, and Nathan says that the reaction from members of the public has made it all worth it. 

"The reaction has been amazing from all ages. We have not had any bad feedback. Everyone including the owner of the shop loves the colours and the quality of the artwork. Some have said it is just what the area needs in terms of vibrance."

This latest piece now joins a growing list of new public artwork in the town which has seen something of a street art re-emergence of late, spurred on, in part, by the first-ever Swindon Paint Fest which took place last year.