Eyes to the sky

A massive pair of eyes now gazes skyward from the rooftop of an abandoned multi-storey car park in Penge, southeast London, an awe-inspiring new addition to the area’s growing outdoor gallery.

The colossal mural, which spans more ground than a football pitch, crowns the soon-to-be-demolished Blenheim Centre. Created entirely with household rollers and brooms, the piece is the work of Abraham Osario, a muralist originally from El Salvador who now calls London home.

“Up close, it’s just splashes of paint, but from above, it transforms into a photo-realistic portrait,” said fellow street artist Irony. “The level of skill it takes to pull that off is insane.”

This remarkable rooftop painting was unveiled by London Calling Blog, a Penge-based collective that has helped bring over 2,000 free artworks to the neighborhood. Their mission? To transform public and private spaces into canvases for creativity, using walls offered up by generous locals.

“No one gets paid, not even the artists,” explained Steve Smith, founder of the collective. “What’s special is that the community came together to make this happen, without knowing who the artist would be or what the artwork would look like. That kind of trust and support is something to be proud of.”