Giant George Michael mural unveiled in Kingsbury
A giant George Michael mural has been unveiled in the area where the late-singer grew up.
The artwork is in Kingsbury, north west London, where the Wham! star lived and went to school until his early teens. Featuring scenes from Michael's 80s music videos, the nine-metre high mural has been installed as part of Brent 2020, London Borough of Culture. Artist Dawn Mellor said it celebrates the singer as a pioneering cultural and LGBTQ+ figure. It features the star's silhouetted figure in his Careless Whisper video, motifs from later music videos like Outside and Michael blow-drying his hair backstage during a world tour. George Michael TV Outside, which is designed to be permanent, took three weeks to complete and is on the side of an estate agent on Kingsbury Road. The mural, as part of the Brent Biennial, also features scenes from the history and life of Kingsbury. It includes a nod to John Logie Baird, the first person to demonstrate a working television set after he experimented with the technology in Kingsbury in the late 1920s. The mural is one of 23 new commissions as part of the first Brent Biennial, which includes projects in libraries, streets and public spaces, by Brent London Borough of Culture. It includes an installation by artist Ruth Beale at Kilburn Library, remembering the more than 400 victims of Covid-19 in Brent, one of the worst hit boroughs in the UK. A programme of workshops will also take place with schools Michael attended, as well a series of free talks and walks. The singer died on Christmas Day 2016, aged 53. Brent Biennial runs from 19 September to 13 December.