A local street artist has hit back at his critics after finishing his latest mural close to Swindon’s town centre.

Nathan Jacka has been painting murals around the town for years now, recently recreating Batman and his villainous enemies opposite the County Ground.

He has turned his attention from supervillains to gangsters now though, having painted Marlon Brando’s 'The Godfather' on Corporation Street.

The artwork has garnered mixed initial messages with several questioning the addition of a crime boss to Swindon’s streets but Nathan has explained his latest piece.

Swindon Advertiser: Nathan worked on the huge mural from scratch.Nathan worked on the huge mural from scratch. (Image: Newsquest)

“The main thing is trying to make a difference in Swindon as there seems to be a lack of culture in the town,” he said.

“We as artists are trying to make the town a more cultural place and it is important to have a powerful message behind art which can motivate people.

“Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and it is good that we are all different but I am not expecting everyone to like it.

“Art, like music, is subjective and there’s no hard feelings but I feel like people have seen the art in a shallow way as the message is more important than the crime.”

Painting under the name of Jaksta Art, Nathan created the mural on the side of Platinum Hands Barbers.

“The message was important with the Godfather piece as we wanted to use the location which is a big gateway into the heart of Swindon to capture people’s attention,” he said.

“It catches your eye and the message was to empower men to think about their family which is touching as those messages aren’t conveyed in Swindon’s murals.

“If people can’t appreciate what I’ve tried to do, there’s not much else I can do to help.”

Swindon Advertiser: The new mural has received a mixed reaction from the people of Swindon.The new mural has received a mixed reaction from the people of Swindon. (Image: Newsquest)

It was no coincidence that the barber shop was chosen as the location for Nathan’s latest piece as the owners shared the artist’s vision.

“The barbers have helped me so much to have that faith in me and they believed in that idea as much as me,” he said.

“They thought the message was empowering too so I’m grateful to them.”

Platinum Hands owner Telmo Moreira said: “I love the art as it is from one of my favourite films and everyone knows what it is.

“The message is great as well because family is a very important thing in life and it is represented well in this fantastic artwork."