A beloved mural celebrating diversity in Cardiff has been recreated after it was painted over to make way for a McDonald's advert.
The My City, My Shirt mural was painted on James Street in Butetown in April last year, as part of a campaign of the same name, which aims to encourage more ethnic minorities to connect with their city and football club.
Dubbed the "Mona Lisa" of the capital, the striking artwork features mother-of-two Maimuna Yoncana, originally from Guinea-Bissau, wearing a Cardiff City shirt and cradling her baby bump.
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The fast-food giant sparked outrage when the mural on the side of Mischief's Cafe Bar was painted over in January to make way for a promotional advert for a new burger.
McDonalds said it was "unaware" of the artwork, but after an outpouring of anger at the move, which was branded "insensitive" and "embarrassing", the restaurant instructed the artist to repaint it on the site.
Due to complications with the original location, work began at the end of February to recreate the mural on the opposite side of the road on the side of Beaum Vape.
After ten days of work, the final touches were added on Sunday, March 6, and the new artwork was finally unveiled.
The mural is the brainchild of two visual artists - Yusuf Ismail and Shawqi Hasson - who make up Cardiff-based creative collective Unify. It was painted by Cardiff street artist Bradley Woods, known as Rmer One.
The McDonalds advert was the second incident in the original mural's short stint on the side of Mischief's Cafe Bar. In October last year, it was defaced with white paint in a hate crime.
Speaking to WalesOnline, Yusuf said it's been a "rollercoaster".
"But everything that's happened has only solidified the importance of the mural in our minds," he said.
"Somebody told me it's probably the most definitive piece of art in Cardiff in the last 20 years.
"I never thought about it like that. That put it in perspective to me how significant it is, so to get it back up and restore it in all its glory was the key focus."
He recalled that when the mural was being repainted, drivers would honk their horns in support, and passersby would wave and approach them to "share their feelings about it and how important it was".
Meanwhile, people posted pictures of it half done on social media.
" The moment the wall turned red, and people realised it was coming back, they were just so excited," Yusuf said.
"That's a testament to how important it was and what it actually represented as well.
"Sometimes you would forget how important is was, and didn't understand how significant it was - how it impacted the community and the city.
"It really took us aback and surprised us, how people embraced it. People make you understand the significance of it."
Yusuf added that he is "really happy" with the new location.
"The new wall is better quality. The previous wall was in really bad shape - it needed some sort of repair," he said.
"It was fate we were able to find a site that was in close proximity to the first and better quality. To have it redone on an incredible wall is only going to enhance the work. That's the sliver lining."
Yusuf urged people to go down and see the new artwork for themselves.
"It looks so much better in person than any photograph that’s taken or any video," he said.
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