Patrick Comerford
Earlier this year, during the summer months, I visited the London Jewish Mural in Finchley. Leon Fenster has captured the colourful and vibrant essence of London's Jewish community in a 26.5 x 14.2 metre artwork rising nine storeys high.
The mural, featuring over 150 faces from historical figures to local legends, celebrates the diverse and dynamic contributions of Jewish individuals to London’s history and culture in a colourful kaleidoscope that draws together memories, legends, history, celebrations and stories of the Jews who live, lived and passed through London.
The towering London Jewish Mural was unveiled at the JW3 cultural centre on Finchley Road in early July on a previously blank wall. The work takes the form of a Yiddish theatre straight from the 19th century East End. It takes a while to see the boxes, stage and seating, however, as every inch is packed with characters and objects.
The artwork was installed on 12 July 2024 by a team of abseilers who had to battle with the wind to pin it down. Fully unfurled, the banner transformed a once blank wall into that rich tapestry of London Jewish culture and history.
Leon Fenster’s collage features hundreds of people, places and items connected to the history of Jewish London, with over 150 faces and 100 stories from Jewish fiction, legend, history and the business world.
William Gallinsky, director of programming at JW3, which commissioned the mural, said: ‘London has a diverse Jewish community, with history and stories to match. Now, more than ever, we need to ensure that rich tapestry is shared with the whole of London. What better way to be loud, and proud of our heritage, than by putting it up on the side of our home for the world to see? Leon has captured the depth and breadth of Jewish London in a beautiful artwork that we hope will create countless conversations about multicultural London.’
Dame Vivien Duffield, founder of JW3, and CEO Raymond Simonson are there among all the faces on the wall, and, as we might expect, there are seven prominent rabbis, including Julia Neuberger and the late Jonathan Sacks.
Political figures range from Benjamin Disraeli, the only Jewish prime minister, celebrating the bar mitzvah he never had, to Karl Marx, who is buried in Highgate. But here too are Queen Elizabeth I at the trial of Rodrigo Lopez, her Jewish personal physician, and Oliver Cromwell, who allowed Jews to return to England in the 1650s.
There are Jewish boxers across the generations, including Daniel Mendoza, who appears on my own family tree, and the 1930s Olympic boxer Harry Mizler.
But what would Sigmund Freud think of being there alongside three agony aunts, Margorie Proops, Claire Rayner and Irma Kurtz? Maureen Lipman is grappling with a couple of phones, recreating Beatie who featured in BT television ads for many years.
There are copies of paintings by Marc Chagall, the comedian and author David Baddiel is up a ladder marking a tally on a wall – a reference to his book Jews Don’t Count – and the tiger and rabbit are from the children’s books by Judith Kerr.
The Beatles come back from the 1960s, thanks to their Jewish manager Brian Epstein, who steered their early look and style. Epstein gave them their first suits, inspired by Mod fashion, which was a Jewish phenomenon – the children of Jewish tailors wearing their parents’ creations. Indeed, the whole work has been compared on one site to Peter Blake’s famous Sergeant Pepper album cover.
There are the Beigel shops on Brick Lame, while a bus stop refers to Palwin wines, a Kosher brand that produces varieties 4, 4A, 10 and 11 – named after the bus routes that once ran past the firms offices in Whitechapel. A minibus weighed down by black hats and suitcases represents the Charedi community’s gradual migration from Stamford Hill to Canvey Island in Essex.
A young Nicholas Winton is seen overseeing the Kindertransport trains, there is a depiction of the Battle of Cable Street, and there are images of the Women’s Soviet Jewry Campaign.
Even the Golem of Prague appears, warding off Nazi planes during the Blitz by hanging off Saint Paul’s Cathedral like King Kong.
Leon Fenster’s art is a bold new form of visual storytelling. He began his career in architecture and his kaleidoscopic approach was inspired by his architectural background, giving a very distinctive character to his work.
Some weeks later, as I looked at Yip Yew Chong’s street art in Singapore, I was not surprised that during his time in Singapore, Taiwan and China Leon Fenster had been inspired by the density of Asian cities to develop the style he is now known for.
In an interview with the Jewish Chronicle, Leon Fenster said the mural was ‘a collision of historical memories in a single space, an artwork that lets us inhabit our memories and dreams in the same way that we actually remember our memories within dreams. It's a kaleidoscope of the world of one community.’
I spent some time that afternoon viewing the mural in Finchley and yet did not spot everyone or everything. I had every good intention of returning to see the mural before the display came to an end. I hope it’s still there the next time I visit London.
Shabbat Shalom, שבת שלום
