Eleven

Image: © David Dixon Taken: 3 Oct 2020

Stranger Things https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stranger_Things is an American science fiction/horror web television series shown in the UK by Netflix. This giant mural of protagonist Eleven was created by street artist Akse P19 outside the Chinese restaurant Sweet Mandarin on Copperas Street. The work was completed and unveiled at the start of July 2019 to mark the release of season 3 of the Netflix series (https://twitter.com/akse_p19/status/1147183454364286977 Akse on Twitter). Self-taught French Vietnamese artist Akse (pronounced “Axe”) has been based in Manchester since 1997 and has gained a cult following with his huge photo-realistic portraits of pop culture icons in prime locations across the city, many of which went “viral” on social media, with locals and tourists alike rushing to get a shot of his latest creation with which to update their Instagram feeds. His subjects include David Bowie (Image]), Tony Wilson (Image]), Maisie Williams (Image), Gene Wilder (Image]) and Victoria Wood (Image]). One of his recent creations is of a local nurse (Image]) painted during the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic; it is a few yards away, just around the corner, on the High Street wall of the Sweet Mandarin.

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