Artist Mark Lewis has transformed Gosport hoardings panels for residents

The Gosport Viewpoint building, which was built by McCarthy and Stone seven years ago, is having to have the cladding replaced after it was built with flammable cladding, posing a safety hazard for residents.

The hoardings that have been placed around the site made the cut-through passage dark and dismal, but after an artistic makeover, the space has now been transformed.

Mark Lewis was contacted by Topek Southern to bring the area back to life whilst under construction, and add something unique to the 16 panels at the entrance to the building.

Mark, 54, has dedicated over 30 years to painting murals and convert mundane spaces into pieces of beauty through artwork, and he set his sights on this latest challenge.

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The 54-year-old has created some of Portsmouth’s most iconic pieces of artwork, his most famous being the huge map of Portsmouth on the wall at The Strand in Southsea.

Mark said: ‘I should be used to it by now, I have been doing it for 35 years. It is just amazing how you can transform hoardings. It is magical really.’

The mural artist decided to recreate the view of Portsmouth which they have lost since the hoardings have gone up, and the residents have responded to the concept.

People living in the building have even made suggestions on what they would like to see on the panels including an air balloon, seagulls and fish, Fratton park floodlights, and even a cruise liner called Arcadia which has been boarded by nine residents and is destined for the Caribbean for six weeks.

Mark painted the cruise liner onto the mural, and even included the nine residents waving to shore as they set off on their travels, as a surprise for when they are back on dry land.

Mark added: ‘As a painter, the idea was to put back the view that they had, so they can get it back but with a graphic design. It is only the residents and the workers that will see it day to day, but the response has been good.’