Rhamero West: Creating mural for killed teen brought peace, mum says
The mother of a boy who was fatally stabbed in the street has said creating a mural near where he was attacked has helped her find "a little peace".
Kelly Brown's son Rhamero West died in September 2021 and two men and a boy were later detained for his murder.
Ms Brown worked with artist Amy Coney to create the mural on the Old Trafford street where Rhamero was stabbed.
She said she always knew she "wanted a memorial to Mero and I couldn't have asked for anything better than this".
Work on the mural, which is titled A Better Tomorrow - Together We Stand, began on 9 September, the first anniversary of Rhamero's death, and was completed recently.
Family handoutMs Brown, who helped to design and paint the work, said she was delighted with it.
"Amy has incorporated everything that I asked for: the circle represents my son and also the sun in the sky," she said.
"The purple heart, which I sprayed myself, is also Mero."
She said it had allowed her to feel more at ease in the area.
"I used to fear going on to Norton Street [and] reliving everything that happened, but now I find a little peace and comfort," she said.
Lynda Sterling - OT Creative SpaceThe mural is one of two which have been added to the area's art trail, with the other commemorating another teenager who died.
The second work was created by artist and book illustrator Melanie Williamson at the request of Caroline Harleaux and Lee Andrews, whose home had become a target for graffiti after the unnamed 18-year-old lost his life in a crash nearby.
The artist said the couple had asked for "something that both local children and adults could appreciate... something bold, and cheery and full-on psychedelic with colour".
Lynda Sterling - OT Creative SpaceMs Harleaux said the mural, titled Can You Kick It?, had been named after a song by hip hop act A Tribe Called Quest because they were "very inspiring to a lot of young people, who looked up to them as positive role models and artists who built up their success from scratch".
OT Creative Space's Lynda Sterling, who launched the art trail in 2021, said the artists had done "amazing jobs, working with local people, friends and families to produce two gracious tributes to two lives lost".
