On an East End wall, Dubai-based mural artist wades into the ‘Brenter’ debate

Dubai: While the whole of the UK was going through the EU referendum, Dubai-based mural artist Marwan Shakarchi (artistic name Myneandyours) was in East End of London with plans on working on a large mural.

The location for the street mural was a wall in a car park on Clerkenwell Road, and Marwan’s partner on the project was Dr Lee Bofkin of Global Street Art.

Because of access issues, the pair was forced to paint another larger wall in the same area but did not have enough paint for the visually arresting original design. The results of the referendum had been out a day earlier. While painting the wall on Saturday evening (June 25), Marwan and Lee got talking about Brexit.

Because of voter demographics, the young were much more pro-Europe than older generations. At some point, the pair hypothesised, there would be a switch when the large Remain minority, would become a small majority. Using a weighted average method, Lee (who has a PhD in evolutionary mathematics from Cambridge University) calculated the date would be in 2022, all other things being equal.

The pair, who have been friends and worked together over the past four years, thought that painting the date on the wall would spark debate.

They started painting the wall white at half past seven and had the idea at 9pm. The design and the calculations were done soon after and they started painting the mural at midnight, finishing by 4am. They were back again at 9am at the site to take photos.

The impromptu 15-metre high mural depicts the date for the next UK-wide referendum to re-enter the EU (or ‘Brenter’) – when the 48 per cent Remain minority will become a small majority, based on simple demographics (voter preferences by age and an ageing population).

Marwan says: “Art is about provoking conversation. The Leave campaign won a democratic referendum, but the quality of the debate was poor ... As the population ages we thought it would be interesting to offer an alternative anchoring point — a date for another referendum.”

Lee Bofkin says: “Marwan and I are both descendants of immigrants — we’d never have become friends if the UK hadn’t accepted our families.”

Manchester-born Marwan whose parents immigrated from Iraq, relocated to Dubai two years ago. His work incorporates a quirky cloud symbol, that has become synonymous with the artist himself.

Speaking to Gulf News from London on Thursday evening, Marwan says he and his painting partner Lee went back two days later to the site and repainted the ‘Brenter’ date, with a different message of optimism and hope: ‘May You Be Happy’.