For almost a century, generations of residents have shaped life at Dolphin Square, leaving behind a rich collection of memories, characters and unexpected stories. Their presence can still be felt in the names above the doorways, the views across the gardens and the details woven throughout the estate. Through a series of ten illustrations, illustrator Max Bruno Mendez – founder of Squidinki – has brought Dolphin Square’s history to life with wit, warmth and a keen eye for the smallest detail.
Together, the works form Dolphin Square’s 100 Years, 100 Stories collection – commissioned to mark the first phase of the estate’s landmark restoration – celebrates almost a century of life, lore and eccentricity at one of London’s most storied addresses. Naval commanders gather beside the swimming pool, dolphins wander along Chichester Street and seagulls make their own mischievous edits to the signage. Look a little closer and further stories begin to emerge.
For those seeking things to do in Pimlico, the collection offers a different way to experience the area: through the people, architecture and stories that have shaped Dolphin Square.
We spoke to Max Mendez about returning to a familiar corner of London, the craft behind each illustration and the family influence that can be traced through every line.
A London story that came full circle
Although Max now lives and works in Sydney, his connection to London runs deep. As a child, he and his friends explored the city using a Red Bus Rover ticket. Their route on the number 24 bus ran from Hampstead Heath to Pimlico, where Max had friends at the former Pimlico School opposite Dolphin Square.
Decades later, the Dolphin Square commission brought him back to the same neighbourhood. For Max, it created what he describes as a “full-circle connection”: a Londoner who had lived and worked around the world returning to tell the stories of a place he first knew in his youth.
His first walk through the estate left an immediate impression. Beyond the red-brick architecture and white detailing, it was the contrast between scale and intimacy that stayed with him
“There is this incredible secret-garden effect. Walking through the grounds is like walking through a 1930s novel. It feels grand, yet intimate.”
Drawing Dolphin Square from the inside out
Before the finished pieces came the research: archive material, conversations, site visits and sketches made from almost every possible viewpoint. Max and his wife, designer and Squidinki co-founder Kerry Findlay, were taken through the estate and given the freedom to interpret what they found. During one visit, Max was given access to the rooftop, where the familiar London skyline and the gardens below offered a completely new perspective on Dolphin Square.
“I sketched from every viewpoint you can imagine, down towards Battersea Power Station and back towards the Houses of Parliament. You really are in the belly of the beast; you are on top of the world.”
That close observation matters. Dolphin Square is not simply the backdrop to the collection; it holds the stories together. Max began by placing a character or event within a recognisable part of the estate, then allowed fact, imagination and humour to meet within the scene.
His process remains deliberately hands-on. Each composition begins in black and white, drawn with fine pens of different thicknesses. He uses Posca markers to create initial rough sketches, adds watercolour and later introduces digital colour for print. The larger Dolphin Square works took around four days for the ink work alone, before colour was added.
“I think about the composition first – capturing the picture and its energy through a black-and-white drawing. Once I am happy with that, colour reveals what it is supposed to be.”
A love of detail passed from father to son
The roots of Max’s intricate style can be found traced back, in a childhood surrounded by prints. His father, Christopher Mendez (1943-2025), was a highly respected London print dealer who specialised in Old Master prints. Born and raised in Hackney, Christopher began his career as an assistant in the department for works on paper at the Victoria and Albert Museum. After time at Sotheby’s and the Folio Society, he established his own business in 1965, later becoming known for discovering rare and visually compelling works in overlooked places.
Max spent his early years living above his father’s print shop in Soho. The walls around him were filled with the black-and-white lines, cross-hatching and careful marks of artists including Dürer and Rembrandt. When he was seven, a visit to see the Bayeux Tapestry in France inspired him to draw King Harold, painstakingly recording every piece of chain mail. The instinct to look closely was already there.
Christopher remained a devoted supporter of his son’s work throughout his life. Before he passed away in 2025, he visited Dolphin Square and saw the collection displayed in the place that inspired it. It became one of Max’s most treasured memories of the project.
“My dad came to see the Dolphin Square event, and I was so proud to show him around. He was a massive advocate of my art throughout his life, and it was lovely to show him these big, bright, colourful canvases.”
The connection continues in quieter ways, too. Max still uses some of his father’s Montblanc pens and keeps his scissors and other treasured tools. Christopher valued well-made materials, an appreciation Max says he has inherited and continues to cherish. Behind the colour and comedy of Squidinki’s illustrations lies a visual language shaped by a lifetime of looking at prints – and a bond between father and son that remains present in the work.
Look closely and the stories appear
Every illustration rewards a second look. Details from Dolphin Square’s history are woven together with Max’s playful imagination, bringing familiar architecture, notable residents and special moments from the estate’s past to life with unexpected characters and humorous touches.
In the swimming pool scene, naval commanders appear beside the houses that carry their names, while the original dolphin sculpture watches over a new chapter in the estate’s history. It is one of the illustrations Max feels especially close to.
“The dolphin sculpture has been looking down on the pool since the 1930s. It has not changed since it was installed, so it is looking over a new chapter in Dolphin Square’s history. The stories it could tell…”
In the garage scene, the cars are all appropriate to Dolphin Square’s opening era, and a poster for The 39 Steps nods to the film released in 1935 – the year before the estate opened. Even the period petrol pumps were researched from archive imagery.
Elsewhere, Sarah Churchill’s notorious habit of throwing gin bottles from her window becomes a scene filled with neighbours holding out nets. Max chose Plymouth Gin after researching Winston Churchill’s preferred brand, using its historic illustrated label as another layer within the picture.
There are references to Christine Keeler’s famous photoshoot chair, John Vassall’s secret papers, Harold Wilson’s pipe and the birds and mammals that share the estate. A peregrine falcon keeps watch over the pigeons, while in The Squire of Dolphin Square, seagulls cheekily rearrange the street sign as elegantly dressed dolphins pass a fishmonger.
Illustrating history as it continues
For Max, the collection is as much about the people living at Dolphin Square today as those who came before. They are the residents adding their own memories to Dolphin Square’s history, continuing a story that is still unfolding.
“I hope residents feel celebrated in being part of Dolphin Square’s history and future. It is a very special place.”
While researching the commission, Max studied illustrations in Dolphin Square’s original 1930s brochures to understand how the estate had once presented itself. It led to a thought that has stayed with him: perhaps, many decades from now, somebody will look at his drawings in the same way, using them to understand this moment in Dolphin Square’s life.
“At some point, my drawings might be the ones somebody looks at in 80 years’ time to see what came before. That is the best bit.”
The commission has also become a meaningful chapter in Max’s own story. Seeing the illustrations displayed at Dolphin Square, and the response they received, left him with a renewed sense of creative energy and pride.
“Dolphin Square has unleashed in me a new pride. It makes me want to get up and do it again every day. The pride and the association continue to feel like that.”
There are still many chapters he would like to explore: more views placing Dolphin Square beside the Thames and within the wider London skyline, a cross-section showing life here in the 1930s and the 2020s, and stories inspired by present-day residents. For an estate with almost a century of history, there is no shortage of material.
For now, the ten illustrations invite visitors to slow down, look closely and rediscover Dolphin Square through an artist’s eyes.
And while the illustrations celebrate what has come before, Max hopes there are still many stories waiting to be told:
“I’d love to tell some of the current residents’ stories too, as they slowly weave the next chapter in Dolphin Square’s history.”
Discover the collection
If you’re looking for things to do in Pimlico, begin with Dolphin Square’s 100 Years, 100 Stories. The free exhibition is on display at Dolphin House at Dolphin Square – the wellness and lifestyle hub at the heart of the estate. You can also explore and purchase a variety of mementos inspired by the artwork.
After spending time with Max’s illustrations, step outside and wander through Dolphin Square’s 3.5 acres of Grade II-listed gardens. Along the way, you may begin to recognise the architecture, viewpoints and small details that inspired his work, bringing the stories from the page into the place where they began.
