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Holy Mary!
Such is the scale of this exquisite mural that it can be seen from almost quarter of a mile away on Queen's Road, Peckham.
Walk a little closer and you'll spot that the artwork covers one entire side of St John with St Andrew Parish Church on Meeting House Lane.
Closer still, and you might be able to identify its central figure. It is Mary, mother of Jesus, shrouded in her traditional blue cloak. Her outstretched arm stretches out to meet the slope of the roofline, while her holy crown reaches up into the bell tower.
This magnificent mural is the work of Italian street artist Giacomo Bufarini, better known as RUN. His work can be found all over town, from Clapton to Croydon. Always, it features the human face or form, often in bright colours.
The mega-Madonna was painted in 2017, using area-improvement cash from Southwark Council, with further support from the Lady Peale Trust and the church itself. You don't have to be a Christian or even a street art fan to appreciate the sheer 'wow' of the design.
Fully titled Mary, Origin & Destination the work depicts the Holy Mother welcoming everyone into her heart — a fitting image for a church. It's faded a little over the years, but still adds colour to the neighbourhood.
This is not the only RUN mural in Peckham. The artist also improved a wall on the side of a food bank in central Peckham (Mission Place), though this has since been partly obscured by tags.
See our full series on London's best murals, including:
The Battersea mural,
The Battle of Cable Street mural
The Sutton Heritage Mosaic
Dalston's Hackney Peace Carnival mural
New Cross's Riders of the Apocalypse mural
Brixton's Nuclear Dawn mural
