handmademurals

'We must ferment public painting in the streets, in the sunlight, on the sides of tall buildings instead of the advertisements that we see there now.' - David A. Siqueiros, 1934

Mat Hand is a painter and public artist. His clients include public arts organizations, local authorities, social initiatives, construction companies and private individuals. He has established a reputation as a professional artist and mentor with a passion for public art. He uses strong images and a bold, vivid style to create site-specific commissions that work well on any scale and can successfully;

Regenerate and reclaim public spaces.
Create landmarks and identify buildings.
Address cultural invisibility.
Act as an effective vandalism deterrent.
Create dynamic living, learning and working environments.

TRACE

October 2009 (12th National Mural Symposium, Canada)

Exterior
Size: 5m x 3m
Client: 12th National Mural Symposium, Canada
Location: 2195 Gerrard St East, Toronto, Canada

As source material for this painting Mat met and photographed Torontonians living in Berlin - Germany.
Trace is based on an image of Cathy Barbetta and looks at ideas of absence, identity and belonging.

Thanks to Karin, Janice and the Mural Routes team for all of their help and support.

Choose image: 1 2 3 4 5 6

PORTRAITS I & II (Untitled)

April & May 2009

Exterior
Size: 4m x 1.8m
Client: none
Location: West Berlin

These public portraits were applied directly to the metal side of delivery trucks in Schöneberg, West Berlin. The black and white images give no indication of who they are of or why they are there. They offer no solutions and ask for nothing in return.

Choose image: 1 2 3 4 5 6

GIANT

July 2009

Exterior
Size: 15m x 12m
Client: Pfefferwerk, Berlin
Location: Lychener Str. Prenzlauer Berg, East Berlin

A large, high-contrast image of a young child painted onto a new building in East Berlin. The portrait signals the purpose of the building without relying on clichéd kindergarten imagery.

Choose image: 1 2 3 4 5

LOOKOUT

January 2010

Exterior
Size: 200m x 2.5m
Client: Pfefferwerk, Berlin
Location: Watt Str. Wedding, Berlin

109 Figures painted around a new building in North Berlin. Lookout uses simple shapes, outlines and black dots to personify blocks of colour to create groups and individuals that watch over the building and those who pass by.

Choose image: 1 2 3 4 5

PLAY

September 2009

Exterior
Size: 45m x 13m
Client: Pfefferwerk, Berlin
Location: Lychener Str. Prenzlauer Berg, East Berlin

PLAY used projectors, window adhesives and acrylic paints to create a gigantic text piece. It is designed so that the contours of the letters only completely line up from one viewpoint.

Choose image: 1 2 3 4 5 6

SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME

June 2008

Exterior
Size: 100m²
Clients: Junction Arts, Frederick Gent School & Arts Council of England
Location: South Normanton, Derbyshire.

These three large, photographic banner portraits are printed on exterior PVC mesh banners and are a celebration of the older women of South Normanton & Pinxton. The project aimed to explore and challenge ageist attitudes and the lack of positive visual representations of older women within our society.

Video - Mat Hand
Music - Bill Fay
Duration - 2:44

Choose image: 1 2 3 4 5 6

GIRLS & BOYS

July 2008

Exterior
Size: 75m x 1.80m (23 x 1.80m x 1.38m portraits & text)
Client: Brent Council, London
Location: Harley Road, Harlesden, London

This project addressed the difficulties experienced by children in the UK faced with increasingly hysterical media reports of the disrespectful and out of control youths roaming the streets. It sought to investigate the simplistic way in which we and society judge and categorise children and the inherent long-term dangers that such behaviour poses for communities and the children in question.

Choose image: 1 2 3 4 5 6

LADIES & GENTLEMEN

February 2007

Exterior
Size: 10 x 6m² Portraits
Client: LIFT & City Arts
Location: Gregory Boulevard, Nottingham

These ten large, public portraits of elderly people looking upwards to the sky are installed next to a main road. They offer an ambiguous yet positive and arresting set of images of a section of the local community that rarely features in the visual landscape of the city.

Choose image: 1 2 3 4 5 6

FORTUNE

June 2007

Exterior
Size: 51m²
Client: Nottingham City Council
Locations: Ring Road, Nottingham

This 17m long, portrait based mural aims to present images of children as thoughtful, dignified and reflective individuals within a public visual landscape that rarely portrays them as such.

Choose image: 1 2 3 4 5 6

KNIRPSENBUDE

September 2006

Exterior
Size: 150m²
Client: Pfefferwerk
Location: Spindlersfeld, East Berlin

This huge double portrait covers the side of a renovated Berlin school building. It is a good example of the striking results that large scale, public portraiture can achieve.

Choose image: 1 2 3 4 5 6

Q&A

August 2006
Interior
Size: 45m²
Client: Rushcliffe School
Location: Rushcliffe School, Rushcliffe, Nottingham

This painting is situated in the entrance of a science department and mixes abstract and iconic images from Biology, Chemistry and Physics to create a vivid re-representation of textbook diagrams.

Choose image: 1 2 3 4 5

2007:
Painting by Numbers, Play, Eat, Ladies & Gentlemen, Fortune

2006:
Applause, One World War, World map, Writers Block, Timelines, School Run, Knirpsenbude, Q&A

2005:
Berlin kids, Metamorphosis, All together now, Obst & gemuse

2004:
Vier Jahreszeiten, Home & Garden, Building by Building, Bird Island 1, Bird Island 2

2003:
World map

2002:
Fourteen Figures, Four Seasons, Born and Bred, Corridor Bomb 1, Tramlines, Goalmouth

2001:
Learning curve, The future's bright, Ayeupmeduck, Garden of eden, Happy shopper, Men at work,

2000:
Courts

1999:
Pick 'n' mix, You are here

If you want to transform a building or would like more information please contact Mat on:

+ 44 (0) 11 59 19 57 88 - UK landline
+ 49 (0) 30 42 01 73 61 - German landline
+ 49 (0) 176 295 12434 - German mobile

or email mat@handmademurals.com