ALAN TURING MURAL — GCHQ Cheltenham — June 2021 Client: GCHQ
Somerset House, London — Summer 2016
Produced by Jane Davies
The project
In June 2021, as Alan Turing became the face of the new £50 note, GCHQ commissioned a large-scale artwork to be painted at the heart of their Cheltenham headquarters — one of Britain's most recognisable and secretive buildings.
The artwork was created by artist Joe Hill of street art pioneers 3D Joe & Max, and was produced by Jane Davies.
A vivid, colourful portrait of Turing surrounded by a rainbow of Bombe machines — the devices used to crack the Enigma code — was painted in the GCHQ courtyard, photographed from above by drone. The image was both a celebration of Turing's extraordinary legacy as the father of modern computing and a powerful statement about LGBTQ+ inclusion, timed to coincide with Pride month.
The artwork also contained 15 hidden cryptic codes — a characteristically GCHQ touch that generated additional press coverage and public engagement as people attempted to crack them.
Photographed from above by drone, the finished work showed Turing's portrait at the centre of the iconic GCHQ "doughnut" building — a powerful image that immediately captured the world's attention
The commission
GCHQ commissioned the artwork to mark one of the most significant moments in recent British cultural history — the first appearance of a gay man on a Bank of England note — and to celebrate Turing's legacy as both a wartime hero and a pioneer of modern computing.
Working with artist Joe Hill of 3D Joe & Max, the artwork was conceived, produced and delivered to coincide with the launch of the new £50 note and Pride month — giving GCHQ a rare and powerful communications moment that humanised one of Britain's most secretive institutions and placed it at the centre of a joyful, widely shared global conversation.
The results
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Went viral internationally on the day of the £50 note launch
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Guardian Picture of the Day — photographed by Reuters and distributed globally via wire services
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Covered by BBC Breakfast, Good Morning Britain, Sky News, CNN, ABC News, Reuters, The Telegraph, The Independent, Evening Standard, Times Radio and 20+ national and international outlets — all in a single day
Brand impact
Brand impact
A single commissioned artwork generated a day of global mainstream news coverage — placing GCHQ at the centre of a joyful, widely shared cultural moment and reaching audiences no conventional communications campaign could access.
