Street artist Irony 'wants to do more' paintings in Portsmouth after finishing mural on former Debenhams in Southsea

Irony, who has over 57,000 followers across Instagram and Facebook, said painting has always been their passion and it stopped them from going down a worse path after dropping out of school.

Asked whether anymore stunning murals would appear in Portsmouth or elsewhere, the artist said they wouldn’t rule it out.

Irony explained: ‘I try and paint wherever I go.

‘I would love to paint more in Portsmouth. If you have a public wall, and you’re happy to let me paint whatever I want you can find me online at @whoamirony.’

The artist explains: ‘I flamed out of school pretty much and just sort of started painting.

‘I got in a lot of trouble for it, but looking back, I think painting likely kept me out of worse stuff.’

The mural of the nose-ringed girl with glinting grey hair in front of an urban landscape of barbed-wire has been an eye catching addition since it appeared outside the former Debenhams store in Commercial Road, Southsea.

Irony’s has been sharing their work on social media since 2009 – and speaking to The News, they expressed their pleasure at how the alternate style of the Southsea mural turned out.

Irony added: ‘Southsea was the first time I’d tried that and I really like how it came out.

‘I don’t have a Hip-hop background, I’ve always been a metal-head, so a lot of my work has more of a metal alternative vibe.’

Asked why they remain anonymous, Irony said they would rather focus on the painting and let the work speak for itself, rather than ‘being big on fame.’

Festivals such as Up Fest in Bristol and Open House in Bangor, Northern Ireland, were created to normalise graffiti style artwork and make it more accepted to the wider public.

Irony added the reception for their work has changed considerably since they started.

They said: ‘When I started there was a lot of hate for this kind of work.

SEE ALSO: Irony: Where is street artist's new mural in Southsea? What other artwork have they created, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter handles and what is known about them?

‘People acted like if you could lock up all the spray painters in a town, that would somehow stop other crime.

‘I’m lucky the kind of work I love to do has become much more accepted now.

‘There are still loads of artists that don’t get the recognition they deserve though.’

Irony has painted murals on their own or at arts festivals across the country to liven up wherever they go.

Local arts studio Corner Collective, on Albert Road, set Irony up with the spot for the painting and also stocks their work as well as pieces from other local artists.

Irony was in Portsmouth to meet with My Dog Sighs – who held his ‘Inside’ exhibition in Southsea over the summer.

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