Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Mural: Greenheart shop bathroom. 3/2008










This mural was completed March 2008, commissioned for the Greenheart shop's bathroom, an eco-fair trade store north of downtown. I tried to represent the theme of the store, "fair to producers, good to the earth". Two of the walls emphasize the connection between all people through hands. The Greenheart is being held and surrounded by a multitude of hands, this image is reflected in the mirror on the opposite wall, underneath the image of a red cloth being woven by two hands in the top corner and being recieved by two hands in the bottom corner. This image emphasizes the connection between producers and consumers- how people are connected to each other and the need for this connection to be a mutually positive relationship instead of an exploitative one. The other two walls show the importance of taking care of our environment. There is a bamboo tree on one wall representing sustainable resources. The tree on the opposite wall is a cacao tree, from which chocolate is made. Fair trade chocolate is important to ensure the protection of rainforests and prevent child slavery within the mainstream chocolate industry. Both trees are shown with intact root systems, symbolizing the importance of addressing the "root" cause of problems. No society and no eco-system is sustainable if it is not growing from healthy roots.

Mural: Martin Luther King mural competition at Chicago Hostel. 2/2008













I painted this mural on a section of windows for the Chicago Hostel's 2008 Martin Luther King mural competition. The theme was to honor the life and work of Dr. King, bringing his message into the current day. I won second place.

The center panel of the mural depicts a portrait of Dr. King as a prisoner in Birmingham jail. Next to him are Hamedah Hasan, Stanley Howard, and a nameless Guantanamo detainee.

Hamedah Hasan is currently serving 27 years (reduced from a life sentence) for her minor role in a cousin’s drug ring. At the time, she had moved in with her cousin to flee an abusive relationship. In return for staying with him, she was expected to help with small drug errands. She was given more time than the leaders of the group because she had little information to trade with prosecuters, even though she had no prior criminal record.

Stanley Howard, a current anti-death penalty advocate, is a former death row inmate. He was pardoned by Illinois Govenor Ryan after the notorious Burge police torture case, where evidence showed that Chicago Police officers used torture to gain false confessions from twelve black men- who were given the death penalty as a result.

The hooded prisoner represents the detainees at Guantanamo Bay, and at other US military prisons like Abu Ghraib. These detainees are held uncharged and subjected to torture and harsh interrogation tactics without hope of a fair trial or access to basic civil and human rights.

The top pane of the mural depicts the hand of Dr. King scattering seeds which fall into the soil on the bottom portion of the mural. The seeds represent the words and actions of Dr. King that have since gone on to inspire and call to action the generation after him. These seeds planted in the fertile hearts and minds of millions of people will sprout new life and growth that will challenge injustice from the bottom up. These seeds manifest “grassroots” consciousness and action that is happening now to overgrow unjust systems still in place.