Artist in residence at Tribe London Canary Wharf has created wall art at the Water Street venue via latest project to enhance communal areas
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Tribe London Canary Wharf is rapidly becoming a feast for the senses.
Earlier this year, the hotel launched its Vinyl Club – a listening station for guests and visitors to enjoy the bump of needle in groove via a curated selection of records and even a specially released album entitled New Grounds.
Now its California-themed ground floor restaurant and bar – Feels Like June – is delivering on sight, unveiling a mural by artist in residence Lois O’Hara alongside specially designed drinks coasters.
“What we want to do is to show our hotels are not just a place to sleep,” said Filipe Avillez, general manager at Tribe London Canary Wharf.
“We want people who are staying with us or visiting to come down and use our social spaces.
“To encourage guests to do that, we try and activate these areas in different ways.
“That’s why I’ve always wanted to work with an artist in residence.
“Lois worked with us on the launch of Vinyl Club and then we invited her to come and create this piece.
“She stayed with us for a week and painted this mural and it looks fabulous. I love the finished piece.
“We’d seen some of her other works and I’m really proud that we now have one on our wall.
“We’re really happy with it and it deserves to stay in its place forever.”
realising the work
Lois’ work at the Water Street venue is about five metres high and acts as a backdrop to Feels Like June’s bar area.
She said: “It was quite challenging to get the crisp lines right because you’re painting on an uneven surface.
“It was physically demanding and I was working on a cherry picker to get to the higher areas.
“It took me a few months to design the piece because although I wanted to bring joy to the hotel and the restaurant area, I also wanted it to fit in with the existing interior.
“It’s a piece in my typical style, which is fluid, organic and joyful.
“I’ve used some of the colours, from Feels Like June’s interior here, but I also wanted the mural to feel like an explosion of drinks over the wall coming together in a really beautiful way.
“There are colours that I really like and often use in my pieces – pink, for example. But this is also a collaboration.
“I really hope people who are looking at this piece feel joyful – for me that’s represented in the orange circles, which are a perfect expression of joy.
“The whole work is intended as a journey towards that.
“But it’s also important that guests here feel comfortable.
“There are lots of pieces out there that make use of colour but they can be a bit too much, a little off-putting.”
from illustration to public art
Lois is based in Brighton and studied illustration before embarking on a career in art.
She said: “It’s really been in me since I was little – drawing and painting. It’s always something I wanted to do.
“But going to uni only pushed me further because I didn’t get much support there.
“The people running the course I did didn’t really understand how I could make money painting walls.
“But I thought there was definitely a way – I had an idea.
“I decided to give it a go and started doing small walls in local cafés and places like that.
“I’ve always been quite rebellious, I guess and I’m the kind of person who wants to get things done.
“If someone tells me I can’t do something, it just makes me want to do it more.”
It’s an approach that’s led to significant success with her work gracing the likes of W London, Wembley Park, Grand Designs Live and Magazine London.
Her work is also available to buy via her website.
key details: Lois O’Hara at Feels Like June
Lois O’Hara’s mural can be seen at Feels Like June on the ground floor of Tribe London Canary Wharf.
The restaurant and bar is open daily from 7am to 10pm.
You can find out more about the venue here
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