Through an alleyway in Hoxton, East London, are a series of wall and floor mosaics designed by Tessa Hunkin with the involvement of 150 local volunteers. The mosaics are the subject of a new film by HENI Talks.
Tessa Hunkin has worked on several other large-scale public art commissions around London, including at Westminster Cathedral and the nearby Chapel of St Joseph and the Holy Family.
Tessa Hunkin (b.1954) and Hackney Mosaic Project 
Arriving at Shepherdess Walk, you are met with wall panels (murals) and floor mosaics reminiscent of the style commonly used in Roman Britain. The first mural panel, ‘Shepherdess Walk, refers to the site that was used as grazing fields for sheep until the eighteenth century. The second panel, titled Hackney 2012, references the year of the London Olympics and the third panel is titled History in the Making.
Tessa Hunkin (b.1954) and Hackney Mosaic Project 
Mosaics are made up of lots of little cubes called tesserae which together make up the whole image. Looking closely, you can see the effect of laying different colours side by side, creating contrast in three-dimensional form. Where the tesserae are cut into different angular shapes, they create outlines or movement.
Still from HENI Talk's film on the Shepherdess Walk murals
Floor mosaics would be found across the breadth and depth of the Roman Empire, from either side of the Mediterranean to North Africa, to Roman Britain. Although elaborate and expensive, Roman mosaics adorned the floors of the most private villas. They could also be found in everyday places, such as baths and places of worship. Ancient mosaics offer an important insight into what everyday life was like for the Romans – similarly, the Shepherdess Walk mosaics convey what everyday life is like in East London. You can spot things that you find in the park itself, with various plants, flowers and insects all found at different times of the year.
Still from HENI Talk's film on the Shepherdess Walk murals
For me, the Shepherdess Walk mosaics are an excellent example of how art doesn't have to be grandiose or complex in its subject matter. This work shows that mosaics – around since the ancient Romans – are still capable of depicting the mundane, yet poetic everyday life of the present. They harmonise with an ancient tradition to create something approachable, in a space for everyone.
George Bartlett, art historian
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