Client: Yards Brewery, commissioned by Mural Arts Philadelphia

Overview

acrylic on mural cloth, 25×140 feet.

Using colors derived from Yards’ product labels and selected landmarks around the
immediate neighborhood, I composed these paintings while looking at photographs I took of the
elaborate equipment and machinery inside the brewery as well as Google street views of the
surrounding neighborhood at different times of year and day. The resulting marks echo the energy and ongoing fluctuation and transition within the community where Yards Brewery is located. Behind this wall, huge stacks of bottles and cans resemble an indoor city skyline, and the intricate tubing and conduits mirror the conveyance of people through the streets,
train lines and highways that are so much a part of the Northern Liberties neighborhood.

The circular portals offer the possibility of imagined worlds within that space. The background
colors come from my experience working infinite virtual space, and also allude to the in between
times of dusk, dawn and twilight.

Goals

The goal was to activate a long rectangular stretch of brick wall along a busy street and on the side of a large business. The clients were interested in vibrant color and energetic movement, and to incorporate a connection to the brewery and its connection to Philadelphia.

Process

I toured the brewery and captured photographs of the neighborhood. I made small sketches while looking at my source material for inspiration, and made revisions in the designs following reviews with the clients and Mural Arts Philadelphia team. Once design was approved, I sized up the digital images of my sketches so that they could be ghost printed at scale onto mural cloth. Printing was done by Mural Provisions. My project manager taught me how to organize each section of the grid and how to line it up and trim afterwards, and how to label the sections. A team of muralists attached the mural sheets to the wall, and I joined them in the lift for touch ups.

Additional Information

In March 2023, Yards Brewery created a beer label featuring the sketches I had made for this mural. I also created an interactive virtual reality feature linked by QR code on the label. This is a virtual 3-dimensional environment composed of photographs of the completed mural, photographs of the city and inside the brewery, 3-dimensional virtual painting, and ambient sounds from Philadelphia and restaurant chatter. By using their finger on a touch screen, users have the ability to navigate the 360 degree imaginary space, which provides context for the mural designs.