Murals in a tunnel under a roundabout

Underground ducks and cows and punts

You wouldn't expect art on the Elizabeth Way / Newmarket Road roundabout.  Yet walk down the north-west ramp to the pedestrian underpass.  Surprise!  You will find a mural in the tunnel.

The mural is painted on small shiny tiles, along both tunnel walls.  One wall is predominantly blue and shows punts on the river Cam.  The opposite side has cows on a green background of grass.

The river is seen in bird's eyeview.  Punts are cropped by the edges.  Two ducks float past diagonally.  Many short brush strokes ripple across the surface, like ripples on water.  Opposite, the ripples are blades of grass, with strange black cows moving across it, like herds of buffalo.

Movement and space are important.  I walked past; I turned round; I felt hemmed in by the walls.  Daylight streams in at both sides but the middle is lit by artificial fluorescent light.  Peering closely, you see signs of wear-and-tear:  a chipped tile, a stenciled face, bits of paper.

 All murals are public art and some are overtly political.  These ones are like children's book illustrations.  Still, they gesture towards the location of Cambridge.  Cows and river are just 5 minutes' walk away.

There are three other tunnels under the roundabout.  All have murals, painted in 2000.  Some websites give the artist's name as John Wilcox.  So far, I've not found out anything else.

Bye-bye, ducks! 

Noddingcat's video of the murals is on youtube.  

More pics of the murals at Cambridge oddities.