I particularly loved the mural, not just because of the painting but because of the memories I have of the time in which it was painted. Robert was so full of energy at this time and the atmosphere around the scaffolding and the studio was very exciting at the time. Robert just knew so many people. Sometimes people would wear the costumes for their time to pose.It was so colourful/ I remember the excitement that encompassed this time. The atmosphere was rather like an Elizabethan play. People walked around bare foot. Women had long hair with flowers in it. It was Elizabethan and the Summer of Love combined in one which was very atmospheric. You heard the hammering of the scaffolding and shouting and the press and people in and out and the general public becoming very excited as the image before them began to grow and develop. It was so raw but so exciting standing there and being put into this philosophical and fascinating colourful painting. For many years I admired this mural.I remember it as it was first painted, clear and pristine, the wonderful blue sky and all the familiar people that I knew.
I remember the day after Robert died, I walked down to the Barbican and sat on the wall opposite the mural. It was covered in pieces of wood to stop the wall from crumbling. The paint was peeling off and it was in decline. I remember the flowers on the studio door next to it and there were rumours about the wall being fixed and renovated but there was no money. I just cried. It was as if I could still hear the laughter, voices and excitement, ghosts of the past, all the people climbing the scaffolding, the smell of oil paint, Robert standing painting and everyone just meeting eachother and having a wonderful time in this interesting pocket of time. For me, the mural represented Robert's whole love of iconography, mysticism, colour and the idea of carnival. It was a celebration of his love of painting.
