Murals
Artist: Rock "Cyfi” Martinez
I am a contemporary aerosol artist whose work draws on the social, cultural, and natural history of site specific surfaces. I was raised in Tucson, Arizona where I was first exposed to public art through the murals that lined the Community Project complex my family lived in. As a self-taught artist, I developed my craft by learning alongside other graffiti writers in my community. This grassroots education and the trials that come from working in a street-culture medium outside of the traditional scope of fine art, influenced my understanding of public places and spaces - namely who they are for, and by extension, who was not welcome. Throughout my body of work, I explore this tension and seek to amplify the voices and narratives of those who have been disenfranchised and marginalized throughout history. I draw inspiration from my Mexican American and Indigenous heritage, and have engaged subjects from spirituality, evolution and civil rights. Because I work in large scale formats, I utilize harmonious color stories and paint element with a photo like quality that are intended to draw the viewer deeper into the work. In my portrait series, I play with allegory and the relationship between man and nature with the concept in mind that we come from the earth, and we return to the earth. I am deeply inspired by early American modernists and often use abstraction and pop art devices to layer meaning. It is very important to me that the work that I create carries the aesthetics are Graffiti culture and to keep pushing the boundaries of what can be created with the use of a spray can.Spirit of the Mississippi Statement:
Titled Spirit of the Mississippi (Mississippi Water Protector), this work is a symbolic portrait of the fight for Indigenous water rights in the United States. The central figure is a female water protector; from her hands the veins of the Mississippi River flow out and around her. She is depicted as floating within a blue orb, which is representational of planet earth. The Mississippi can be thought of as the central nervous system of North America and its health is inextricably connected to the health and wellbeing of all living beings. This work seeks to engage the community in discussion and reflection on the power of water in our lives and the urgent need to protect this precious resource.
Artist: Nmph
Based in the American Midwest, Nmph cut his teeth on graffiti at 15 and has since spent more than two decades silently chasing fulfillment through painting colorful, contorted letterforms across a variety of North American structures. Though still focused on building and evolving this pursuit, when it came to the merits of his studio efforts he decided to pivot and leave graffiti strictly to the arenas which it belongs. Nmph began to magnify and expand upon the designs and personality that fill and cushion his letters, shifting them into a distinguishable style of layered abstractions. Comprised of vibrant colors, gesturing-geometric shapes, and viscous-organic forms, these background traits became the foundation for his composition-heavy mural and studio work.
Artist: Studio Moss
The Wycliff lobby mural was the creative inspiration of Studios Moss, an independent woman owned creative design firm from St. Paul, MN. Their passion is driven by the desire to be innovative, fresh, and unexpected. The lobby mural was commissioned by the building, looking to create a space that felt open, welcoming, and vibrant for their tenants and clients
Artist: Mariela Ajras
Mariela Ajras (Buenos Aires, 1984) is an internationally-acclaimed muralist from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Her work mainly focuses on the images of women and questions of femininity and collective memory. A psychologist as well as an artist, this background greatly influences her work in terms of subject matter and also in the teaching of community-oriented workshop that uses muralism as a social tool. She is a founding member of AMMURA (Association of Female Muralists of Argentina), a platform that showcases female muralists work and calls out gender inequality in the public art scene in Argentina. Her work can be found in different cities such as Los Angeles, CA, Oakland, Lynn, MA, Salem, MA. Barcelona, Valencia, Tarragona, Salamanca in Spain. Mexico City, Guadalajara, Morelia, Ciudad Juarez in Mexico. Napoli in Italy, Buenos Aires in Argentina, Louvain in Belgium among others.
Golden fibers of a memory of us. Both are hearts longing and resting in an embrace that fades as a distant dead star. Time will conquer it all. Men will hurt each other. We will migrate in the hopes of dignity.
A fine line will divide us and my motherhood with your childhood will be resented. A wall of bricks between me and that of me in you. Borders embroidered in the skin of the land of none. Totems of inequity falling heavily on our heads, on our options.
I wish you always the safe caress of the sun that summer morning when you came and chose me. Broken, my heart takes its last beats in my hand as I watch you be taken away. Sealed and caged along with your innocence. Something is always ruined.
This mural is a commentary on motherhood and migration.
Artist: Fadlabi
Fadlabi (b. 1975 in Omdurman) lives and works in Oslo. He was educated at the Art Academy in Oslo (KHiO), Al-Neelain University in Khartoum, and Sudan University. He works with painting, text, and performance. In 2008 he founded “One Night Only” an artist-run platform in Oslo that shows a new artist every Monday. Possibly, Norway's most busy gallery. Between 2010- 2014 he worked with artist Lars Cuzner on European Attraction Limited, a contemporary rendition of a human zoo named The Congo Village and was part of the 1914 World Fair in Oslo. They re-enacted the village and opened it to the public in May 2014. His recent shows includes Sharjah Biennial 11 (Sharjah), Bergen Assembly (Bergen)The Museum of Contemporary Art (Oslo), Kunsthall (Oslo), UKS (Oslo), Munchmuseet i bevegelse (Oslo), NY Art-book fair (NY),Performa 15 NY (NY), Temporary Gallery (Cologne), Nile Sunset Annex (Cairo), Al Riwaq (Manamah), the Saudi Arts Council (Jeddah), Darat Al Funun (Amman) and Townhouse (Cairo).Contact Wycliff
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