12 Portraits

Bristol is a city that rewards those who look closely. Famed for its thriving street art scene, it has transformed walls, underpasses, and forgotten corners into canvases for public expression. The city’s creative spirit is woven into its identity, from the globally celebrated works of Banksy to the ever-changing murals that animate its neighborhoods. In Bristol, art often appears where least expected, turning an ordinary walk into a hunt for hidden stories.

One such story lies within Cabot Circus. Opened in 2008, the vast shopping and leisure complex is best known for its striking glass canopy and bustling retail spaces. Thousands of people pass through its concourses every day, yet few realize that the development was conceived with public art at its core. Several permanent installations were commissioned as part of the BS1 arts program, blending quietly into the architecture and waiting to be discovered.

Among the most elusive is 12 Portraits, created by British artist Dryden Goodwin. As part of the BS1 arts program, which documented the transformation of Cabot Circus from construction site to commercial landmark, Goodwin set out to record the human stories behind the steel, stone, and glass. Rather than celebrating the finished building, he focused on the people who brought it into existence.

Look carefully along the curved polished slate wall beside the central stairwell and a series of tiny etched faces emerge. Each chrome-faced plate measures only 10 centimeters square, making the work remarkably easy to overlook. The twelve portraits depict individuals from across the project, from senior decision-makers to bricklayers and canteen staff, reflecting the diverse backgrounds and cultures of the workforce that assembled the complex.

The result is a hidden monument to collective effort. Arranged in a single horizontal line with no rank or hierarchy, the portraits give equal weight to every contribution. Beneath Cabot Circus’s soaring roof, they serve as a quiet reminder that behind every grand development are thousands of largely unseen lives. Most visitors never notice them—but those who do uncover one of Bristol’s most thoughtful and overlooked public artworks.