Laura Boswell’s creation for the newly refurbished walls of Aylesbury Bus Station is Europe’s largest piece of original enamelled panel artwork. The vibrant mural of rolling hills and patchwork fields has transformed a once plain, dimly lit underpass. The piece draws inspiration from the landscapes of Aylesbury Vale and lines the sides of Great Western Street, leading into the bus station.

Laura Boswell’s work was commissioned by Buckinghamshire County Council following a successful bid by AVDC to Arts Council England for The Art Plus 2007 Award Scheme for art in public places.

In an unusual twist to the project Laura hand applied her proposed design directly onto the cladding. Not only did this prove more cost effective and economical than a traditional screenprinting method but Buckinghamshire County Council were essentially buying a completely unique artwork for the district.

Studio space was allocated at A.J Wells and the project was incorporated into the factory work-flow so that Laura had full access to facilities and assistance as and when required. Laura created the imagery by projecting and sketching out her carefully planned artwork onto the plain panels before applying the inks. The dimensions of the design and each colour was referenced and recorded should any of the panels need replacing in the future.

A.J Wells and Laura worked together in developing a handpainted ‘Scraffito’ technique involving sponging the inks onto the panel, drying and scratching into the surface before finally fusing the enamel to the panel by firing it at over 800°C.

Each panel measured 2.4 meters high by 1.2 meters wide with a total of 800 panels of which 400 were handpainted.

Another element of the project produced in-house at A.J Wells were the cut steel screens that re-enforce ventilation panels appearing within sections of the artwork. Laura designed these as abstract hedge detailing that was then laser cut in stainless steel.

The artwork was unveiled in April 2009.