Fatspatrol Completes Her Largest Mural Ever

fatspatrol is no stranger to BIG walls, but this is something else! Located on Yas Island near Abu Dhabi, UAE, her recently completed massive mural covers 8630 square meters of wall space. That's seven buildings, each eight stories high. The project took over three months. Damn that's impressive!

Birds have factored prominently in fatspatrol's artwork since 2015. What they've represented for her has conveyed her through a tough time in life: migration, flight, freedom, vulnerability and an existence without borders. These walls are the artist's love letter to all birds.

The birds featured make their home in, or migrate through, the United Arab Emirates. Several are common, but most are endangered, like the houbara bustard. Though fatspatrol doesn't recall a lot of bird diversity from her childhood in the UAE, she was impressed by their present populations, and conservation efforts aimed at protecting endangered species.

Check out fatspatrol's website here. Or find her on Instagram: @fatspatrol.

photos by Jo Askew