Chelsea unveil Holocaust Remembrance Day mural

Dov Ibgi
Jan 27, 2020
2 min read

Chelsea have unveiled a commemorative mural of Jewish footballers and British prisoners of war sent to Nazi camps to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27.

The artwork painted by renowned Israeli and British street artist Solomon Souza is displayed on a wall outside of the West Stand at Stamford Bridge and is part of Chelsea's Say No to Antisemitism campaign, which is funded by club owner Roman Abramovich.

Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck told the club's website: "Millions of people were murdered during the Holocaust. As the living memory of the Second World War fades, the more important it becomes to remember the horrors that took place to ensure they are never allowed to happen again.

"This year is the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. Our club, and our club owner Roman Abramovich, believe it is crucially important to honour this anniversary.

"By sharing the images of these three individual football players on our stadium, we hope to inspire future generations to always fight against antisemitism, discrimination and racism, wherever they find it."

Souza is the grandson of artist FN Souza, whose works have been featured in many museums and galleries in London, including the V&A, British Museum and Tate Modern.

Souza said: "I am delighted to be invited to Chelsea and commissioned by Mr. Abramovich to create this project. My grandmother, Liselotte Souza, escaped the Nazis in 1939 and came to the UK, so this piece means a lot to me and my family.

"Art can be an extremely powerful tool to tell important stories. I hope that my installation at Stamford Bridge will inspire everyone that sees it to challenge and oppose prejudice and hatred in society, at a time when it feels like it's getting worse."

Following in his grandfather’s footsteps—the legendary modernist painter, FN Souza—the London-bred and Israel-based street artist Solomon Souza is the talk of the town.

On weekdays, the alleyways of Jerusalem’s Machane Yehuda Market are a bustle of shoppers and sellers, a place bursting with sights, sounds and smells. Solomon has painted 230 of the shutters in the iconic Machane Yehuda Market in Jerusalem turning it into a spectacular display of street art. "I grew up surrounded by my mother’s art, and I had a good high school art teacher when we lived in Hackney, London, but otherwise I am self-taught,” Souza told The Times of Israel".

Solomon had also returned to his grandfathers homeland for the first time to paint a series of vibrant wall murals called ICON that celebrate Goa’s unsung heroes: Kenyan athlete of Goan descent Seraphino Antao, poet Eunice De Souza, jazz trumpeter Chic Chocolate and more. ICON is one of the show-stopping highlights at the Serendipity Arts Festival which commences tomorrow. The list of 24 local luminaries’ portraiture and the village walls that serve as the focal point for their display was finalised by Souza with the help of the project’s curator Vivek Menezes.

“I think the biggest lesson I learned from Francis is that an artist cannot afford to shy away from displaying feelings or emotions, at any cost,” Solomon tells Architectural Digest.

More from Solomon on his Instagram @solomonsouza

and his Facebook page Solomon Souza