Walls of Expression and Dark Murals Tourism

Abstract

[EN] The west wall of the former St. George¿s town hall in London¿s East End is a giant vivid artwork. A riot of color to depict a protest turned violent public disorder: Blackshirts waving Union Jacks; people chanting from the barricades; milk bottles, tools, and fascist pamphlets flying through the air. Residents lean out of tenement windows. A man throws a punch at a policeman. A woman tips the contents of a chamber pot onto the marchers below. Mounted police maneuver horses, swing truncheons overhead. But, curiously, this mural is not seen as a symbol of violence, but as a symbol of solidarity and anti-fascism. Men, women, and children from different religions; immigrants from different nationalities; and even new faces fighting together against a potential enemy.