Meet the man behind the Southampton's Mosaic Trail
We meet the man behind Southampton's Mosaic Trail who explains how it started and how they captured the imagination of residents and people visiting the city.
Is Southampton becoming the city of mosaics? Judging by the sheer number of small mosaics appearing on walls and buildings it certainly looks that way – and they are all the work of one man, Will Rosie aka Mr Mosaic.
“It all started because I took part in Wild in Art trails, mosaicking a Rhino and a Zebra. I liked the way people went round to see them and thought it would be nice to do a permanent trail that would raise a smile so I chose Mr Men. I go out and find a location and stick it on the wall. I’ve done over 100 since I started in 2019, and have mosaics all over the city,” Will said.
Tracking down the mosaics has become a popular activity among both locals and visitors to the city. A special Google map enables people to search out the locations. Ambulance drivers have been known to play mosaic bingo trying to find the quirky mosaics, and runners use them as trail markers. The range of mosaics has grown, extending from the original Mr Men to Will’s own versions of Mr Men characters, as well as superhero’s like Batman and several characters from The Simpsons. They have been featured on TV in the UK and elsewhere such as the US NBC channel. He comments, “the BBC asked to film me putting one up and I said I was going to do one on their building next – they loved it.”
He makes the mosaic squares whenever he has some spare time. Will comes up with an image, creates the mosaic, then goes out and finds a location in which to fix it on a wall. None of the locations are historically sensitive, and can range from street walls to office buildings particularly where there is high footfall or where traffic stops at traffic lights. During the 2020 lockdown, he created several designs including Mr StayAtHome – a black and white tile with no character on it apart from his name since he was staying at home.
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Generally installed without permission, these cheerful mosaics have gained immense popularity and achieved what Will describes as “permission vague.” Councillors and organisations are simply accepting their existence, and are quietly encouraging. He said, “I put Mr Plod on a local police station and there has been no comeback! I was putting up Mr Lazy when I found a councillor standing behind me. He wanted to know when I was going to put some in the east of the city – his ward. I thought about it and found a link by putting Mr Hope on a bridge over the river used by people intent on committing suicide. The reaction was mental – I had 130,000 views sharing it within a short time. A council leader commented in public that, “We recognise that Will is not doing it in a conventional way, but he is doing a good job.”
"I put Mr Plod on a local police station and there has been no comeback! I was putting up Mr Lazy when I found a councillor standing behind me."
He added, “I did a Mr Marathon for the organiser of the Southampton Marathon. At an event I pushed a picture of my graffiti mosaics in front of the mayor and asked him what I thought of them. He told me to go away and make a mosaic of Mr Mayor.”
“I know that people come down to Southampton to see the mosaics. A councillor’s daughter came down to see her Mum and said she had a list of mosaics to find. They spent all weekend hunting for my mosaics.”
The concept has grown and grown. One of his latest activities involving hiding Squidie mosaics based on square Emoji characters – but to find them you have to check out clues on social media and hunt for them. Anyone finding a Squidie, can keep it. Now artists and poets are asking to do collaborations with him, hiding pieces of their work alongside a Squidie.
There have been other spinoffs – the attention paid to these fun mosaic trails have resulted in Will being commissioned by Southampton Council to undertake various commissions such as a mosaic celebrating the 400th anniversary of The Mayflower. Working with local children, he created a set of nautically themed mosaic risers adorning the steps in front of a block of flats in Ennerdale Road, Southampton.
“I love my city and I want it to be a beautiful place, so the more I can do to make that happen is wonderful,” says Will.
There is no doubt that people love the concept of this mosaic city as his trails are avidly followed, especially whenever the Google map indicates that a new mosaic has been installed. Everyone starts looking out for the latest creation. It certainly adds a lot of interest to a leisurely walk around Southampton!
Want to try finding some of these fascinating mosaics? Take a look these links and work out your own personal route: www.facebook.com/allaboutartltd
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