A Hilltown takeaway owner has been surprised with a giant graffiti portrait after the loss of two loved ones – who died just days apart.
The painting of Gill Young, who runs The Shack Street Food on Isla Street, was unveiled by her friend and Dundee street artist Simon Mathieson – better known as Syke – on Wednesday.
The colourful mural on Mary Ann Lane, named “Oor Gill”, shows a smiling Gill wearing her signature headscarf against a bright green backdrop.
‘He has got me to a T’
Gill, who became friends with Syke through their shared love of graffiti, told The Courier: “It feels really special.
“I am quite emotional to be honest.
“I am so happy with it. He has really got me to a T.”
The 51-year-old says she had no idea Syke was planning the mural – and saw it for the first time when he posted it on social media.
She said: “My phone just started bleeping with everybody tagging me.
“It was a complete surprise.
“He is amazing.
“He does so much work for charity and he works in the community with young people, teaching them how to spray paint”.
Mural of the Shack’s Gill ‘put a smile on her face’
Gill says Syke wanted to put a smile on her face after the sudden death of her 61-year-old aunt Alison Hogg and a young family friend.
She said: “I have lost of few people so he did it to cheer me up, which is so nice.
“We buried my auntie earlier this week.
“She was a fantastic nurse in Dundee. She was so beautiful.”
Her death came just days after that of 16-year-old Lennix Hughes – the daughter of one of Gill’s closest friends.
Gill started a GoFundMe page to raise money in memory of the teenager, which has since raised more than £30,000.
Syke, 42, is renowned for his eye-catching murals of famous faces and characters around Dundee.
He has previously paid tribute to figures such as Dundee actor Brian Cox and even Dennis the Menace on walls across the city, with some carrying messages about mental health.
He told The Courier his latest creation took him around three hours to complete.
He said: “Gill is a really good friend of mine and a huge fan of graffiti.
“I was hoping it would cheer her a little.
“She does so much for people in the community so it was my way of returning the favour I suppose.
“She seemed really chuffed with it.”
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