It has been a Summer full of promise at That House on Mare Street, the reborn space has been enjoying a glorious first summer as an art space, a Summer that was capped last Saturday evening with a triumphant unveiling of a big wall mural painted by Brazilian artist Thiago Mazza.

Here’s what they say at 195, they explain it well, why re-write it?

“Our project began with a bad wall – crumbling pebbledash, graffiti and dead ivy. As we learnt about the history of Mare Street, we discovered its amazing botanical past. Over on the other side of the street, #loddigesnursery imported and traded plants from all over the world for nearly a century. It was one of the largest nurseries of its time, introducing new plants to Europe – wisteria, bamboo, palms, ferns, hydrangeas.

Inside 195 Mare Street, there are traces of flower wallpaper – ferns above doors, leaf patterns inside cupboards and roses around fireplaces. The house and garden must once have been filled with plants from Loddiges.

Our bad wall gave us the opportunity to retell Loddiges’ story, bringing colour and nature back to Mare St. The movement of plants is a great metaphor for the diversity of the people of Hackney, who have migrated here from around the world. Mare St is home to many people from south-east Asia and there are thriving Vietnamese businesses all around us.

So we chose to paint cây tú cầu/繡球花/hydrangea. With origins in China and Vietnam, it honours our neighbours and their migration to Hackney.

And we found the best botanical mural artist in the world to paint it: Thiago Mazza, whose homeland is Brazil, where many of Loddiges plants came from”.

And that attention to the detail and the appreciation of the rich history of both Hackney and the building itself is why the first Summer has been so good. The House will now go into Winter hibernation while essential (sympathetic) repairs are carried out. We are told the current character of the house that is to become both a family home and a working arts centre will not be lost, it is in a beautiful state right now.  We don’t know when the big front door will open again, there is a lot of work to be done,

There’s been some excellent shows and events over the last few months, some very strong art. Not everything has been perfect but how could it ever be, they’re clearly not afraid to take an artistic risk or two at 195. As artists we’ve enjoyed the space, as locals we’ve really enjoyed the space, indeed we’ve met people, we’ve made new friends who we now have conversations in the street with, At the unveiling of the mural last weekend, new friends were greeting each other in delight as the big curtain fell. The curtain was a brilliant bit of theatre, garden/building site was packed, people hanging out of the windows, late comers only just able to squeeze in through the front. The mural itself is just right, it is beautifully painted, lush, bold, rich, alive, and yes, it has been a great Summer, we look forward to more…      (sw)

Previously on these pages…

ORGAN THING: We Are For The Dark at That House on Mare Street, Kate McDonnell and Nicola Turner’s site responsive intervention is just brilliant…

ORGAN THING: Peeling wallpaper, brick dust, Emily Tracy’s room at the Elizabeth Fry Refuge, traces left by Sam Hodge, a rather fine first art exhibition as Hackney’s historical 195 Mare Street gets a new lease of life… x

ORGAN THING: Peeling wallpaper, brick dust, Emily Tracy’s room at the Elizabeth Fry Refuge, traces left by Sam Hodge, a rather fine first art exhibition as Hackney’s historical 195 Mare Street gets a new lease of life…

ORGAN PREVIEW: Hackney’s E8 Art and Craft Trail is almost upon us, including a fifteen artist event at That House on Mare Street…

www.195marestreet.co.uk

As always, do click on an image to enlarge, to see the whoe thing, or to run the slide show and gt s small flacour of the summer at the house…