Portfolio > Murals

An interest in cave painting and a reaction to academic institutions motivated the creation of these two murals. In these works, I attempted to embed a sense of humanity into the featureless walls of a department dedicated to the creative while acknowledging the frantic and emotional atmosphere underlying the academic cloak of stoicism. Additionally, these drawings were created during and directly after the 2008 market collapse and drew from the chaotic energy of the society and the institution.

The wild, stampeding buffalo is frozen on the wall, suspended mid-gallop, with its mouth open, tongue out in a frantic gasp, and body contorted. The animal is cornered, yet through its sheer mass and frenzied state it also confronts and dominates the viewer.

Displayed at the opposite corner of the building, the figure of a man (a self-portrait) is seen plummeting, jumping, or diving. Mouth agape, body contorted, with similar handling and scale, the figure shares many of the attributes of the buffalo. Both are animals, thrust into this institutional environment, and both are desperately and frantically trying to deal with their placement.