Between 2007 and 2008 Graham Chorlton was the artist in residence at the School of Education, then sited at the Selly Oak campus. During his time there he became inspired by his daily route between the two campuses. Using a digital camera he took many photographs of the buildings along Bristol Road, the well-worn student pubs, greasy-spoon cafes and the more salubrious old library and theatre. He used these as source material for a series of evocative cityscapes which were exhibited in the Aston Webb Rotunda in 2008/09. This image is shows an unusual view of Bristol Road, looking downhill from Selly Oak station. The wide road stretches out to fill the foreground with a washed out band of grey, echoed by the murky grey sky above. On the horizon we can identify the University clocktower and the dome of Aston Webb. All is reduced to a series of vertical and horizontal coloured blocks which gives this painting a further almost abstract quality that belies its origin in a photograph.