more than meets the eye
CONCEPTUAL DESIGN, RESEARCH-HEAVY
FOCUS ON PROCESS & STORY
An unconventional portrait of Richmond, viewed from within. Painted in a historic residence, built 1892.
The Carleys’ son Thomas is really really into firetrucks. He can identify more kinds of firehouse-related vehicles than I've even heard of. (Do you know the difference between a tanker truck and an engine? Thomas does.) He was already well on his way to having a firetruck themed room before I came along.
Halcyon Vintage is a vintage clothing shop established in 1983 by the lovely Connie Carroll. It's a staple of the Robinson St / Main St shopping area, and (I'm told by experts) a real hidden treasure for those interested in authentic vintage apparel.
For years the alley-side of the shop has been distinguished by a wooden sign by Billy Pickett, a veteran Richmond sign-painter. As with any wooden sign though, this one finally bit the dust earlier this year and Connie decided to replace it directly on the wall itself.
I worked with Connie to design a mural based off of the original design, which is an illustration of the myth of Alcyone. The new version has several subtle symbols representing Connie's two homes of Virginia and Maine: for example, the tree is a portrait of a specific tree on the James near Pony Pasture, and the rocks are based off of the Maine coastline.
Chesapeake Bank commissioned this mural to beautify the construction site for their first Richmond branch. Designed specifically for the site, the mural runs the full length of the block, capping the corners with detailed portraits of iconic local buildings and sights.
To create these portraits, I started by walking around to many local businesses in the Westhampton shopping area (Grove Ave, Libbie Rd, Patterson Ave) and asking people what they thought of as iconic to their community - which people, buildings, fixtures, events, and etc characterize the area? Many people were somewhat bemused - though they'd lived and worked in the area for a long time, they didn't see their surroundings as "iconic". Nevertheless I ended up with a long list of businesses that had been there for 20, 30, and 40 years, repeated imagery like the streetlights, and groups of people like joggers and shoppers. (Many subjects were mentioned over and over by those same bemused people - hopefully these images act as a mirror for them to see the lovely character of their neighborhood!)
More details below about different parts of the installation.
Kosovo is a young country with a long history, and its identity is in the hands of today's young people.
The locations depicted are scenes from my introduction to Ferizaj, where the city streets are busy and close, and the consistent background of the mountains is revealed between buildings. The blank wall at the center is a message of possibility to the students in the university who will see this in class.
This is the first indoor wall to be part of this program, located at the University of Applied Sciences in Ferizaj. I was blown away by the amazing program of MuralFest Kosova and how much this team has positively impacted their city, not just during a summer art festival but year-round, for seven years. My hope is that this mural can symbolize the impact they have had, and hold it up as an example for how to involve oneself in the work being done to build the future of your home.