Patient designs superhero themed mural for mental health unit

A superhero themed mural designed and painted by patients has gone on display at a mental health unit in Colchester.

The giant artwork is now the focal point of the patient gym at the unit in Turner Road which provides 24-hour inpatient care for men and women.

Patients discussed potential themes before the design was created by a female patient with a passion for art. Other patients were then invited to help paint the colourful mural as part of art therapy sessions.

Occupational Therapist Fran Bailey, who worked with the patients to create the mural, said: “It looks amazing in the gym and has really become a focal point for the patients who use it.

“One of our patients designed the mural after thinking about different male and female superheroes and images that would work on a large scale in a gym.”

The mural depicts Superman, Ms Marvel, Iron Man, Flash and Dr Strange and was created over a seven-week period.

Fran added: “It took a about a week to plan the order of each panel and decide on the paint effects we wanted to use for each of the backgrounds.  Once the composition was decided, our designer created the images using pen and shaded in blocks to make the stencils easier to visualise. Patients used sponges, brushes and their fingers to create the different textures and effects on the mural.

“We are all really pleased with the final result. I’d like to thank everyone who was involved and made the mural happen.”