Deptford Pearls
When we first had the idea for our Deptford Pearls mural, we thought it might be too silly. But when we couldn’t come up with a cleverer one, we had to settle. Twenty years later, we suspect this silliness might be exactly what’s helped it resist the passing of time.
Painted for free during the early years of Deptford X (way back in back in 2001), the image of two humorously human chimneys has, inexplicably, become something of an icon of Deptford. The mural does not intend to represent its local community, or its demographics, but offers a welcoming — even mocking — alternative to the often harsh realities of the neighbourhood.
This piece was also never intended to represent a binary heterosexual couple. It was more about the different roles we all play, or even the different aspects of our personalities. Recently, we came across the story of Mary Lacy, the extraordinary woman who built the house sometime around 1762. She dressed as a man and went by the name William Chandler. She even went to sea on board the HMS Sandwich as assistant carpenter, eventually becoming the first female shipwright, despite keeping her gender a secret. When she went to collect her pension, the doctor who assessed her realised she was a woman and denied it to her. Legend has it that a local aristocrat put a good word for her, and the pension was eventually granted. The story goes that she then started a love affair with his wife and the three of them ended up living happily together on Deptford High Street.
Now when we look back the mural, we wonder if we were somehow unconsciously influenced by the spirit of Mary Lacy when our original idea came to mind…
This will always be a special piece to us, as it marks the beginning of our journey. Since it was first painted, we’ve turned the streets of South East London into our canvas and gotten hundreds of local people involved. It was in Deptford that we developed our participatory processes and methodologies. Ultimately, situations of adversity would become our primary focus; leading to us working all over the world.
We celebrated our mural’s ‘coming of age’ with an open call to local people, who have produced many alternative versions, posters and unusual photographs of the mural over on their social media accounts. Head to our shop if you would like to buy one.
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