Nissan mural highlights London car pollution

Electric vehicle firm commissions ‘reverse graffiti’ artist to produce mural in London by using jet washer to clean particulate matter dirt

Mural artwork achieved through cleaning dirt from walls with a jet wash tool is currently being shown near Waterloo station to highlight the high levels of particulate matter emissions from road vehicles in the capital.

Situated under the arches of London’s Waterloo station, the street mural is 2.5 metres tall and 10 metres wide and depicts some of the city’s landmarks such as Buckingham Palace, the Shard and Battersea Power Station.

Graffiti artist Moose creates a mural of London with a Nissan-powered jet wash

Graffiti artist Moose was commissioned by car manufacturer Nissan to create the mural through a method known as ‘reverse graffiti’, which involved jet washers powered by the Nissan LEAF, which the car firm claims is the world’s best-selling electric vehicle.

The jet washers utilised Nissan’s LEAF to Home equipment, a portable device which converts electricity from the car’s battery to provide 48 hours of power to the home from one charge.

According to Nissan, the mural was commissioned to “highlight the growing issue of poor air quality across Europe’s largest cities” and “aims to showcase how much cleaner they could be if more of us adopted electric cars”.

Moose also created a similar mural to highlight air pollution on the banks of the St Annenufer canal in Hamburg, Germany, depicting landmarks including the Chilehaus, Heinrich-Hertz-Turm and Hamburg Rathaus.

He produces ‘reverse graffiti’ artworks by cleaning dirt and grime off surfaces using a jet washer or wire brush, leaving a design in negative on the wall. Before using the jet washer, Moose sketched his ideas by hand using stencils.

Leeds-based Moose said: “My whole ethos is about highlighting the amount of pollution we endure daily using a very positive harmless method that never fails to ask questions about what we accept and what we shouldn’t accept in our environment. For these reasons I was keen to be involved in this project.”

Jean-Pierre Diernaz, electric vehicle director at Nissan Europe, added: “This piece of art is a striking call to action that air quality is one of the biggest issues facing the citizens and visitors of Europe’s largest cities today. It is a reminder that electric vehicles don’t have an exhaust to emit the kind of air pollution which has stained the wall Moose has created his artworks on.

“Working with Moose to highlight the effect of air quality on our cities through art powered by the Nissan LEAF is an exciting and powerful way of reminding people about the benefits of zero emission vehicles.”