Murals & Mural Drawings
This wall drawing installation was created for Daily Special at the Bellevue Arts Museum for Bellweather, 2019, curated by Ellen Ito. The intention of this pattern was to heal and build community in Bellevue, to heal the ancestral lands of the place, and the museum's relationship with the community and place.
Since my work is all created in collaboration with a spirit team I don't plan what elements are included or how it comes together, it emerges from my communication with my guides. So each element is a surprise and I interpret what comes forward, much like an intuitive reads tarot cards, after I complete the painting.
For this painting, the large oval with mirrored overlapping spirals (Vesica Piscis) of blue came first, anchoring the image and the work of the pattern in the lake and slough of Bellevue, fertile land that Bellevue was founded upon--water and soil.
Next came the two chevrons at top edge, holding the cascade mountains. These two first steps created the land and place.
The third step brought in the people and relationships that needed to be healed in order for Bellevue to move forward as a community. Their were to be 5 symbols in a row. From left to right, 1) The Ashoka Chakra or the karma wheel from the Indian flag, 2) a crescent moon 3) a heart (with a 12 pointed star overtop that came later), 4) a bow, and 5) the Imperial Chrysanthemum Seal (kikumon) from Japan.
Again, I didn't know what these meant until after I had found these elements with my team and painted the piece. I was unaware of the role Japanese farmers played in clearing and cultivating the land that Bellevue stands on now, and how their land was taken when they were interned during WWII, and how this land continues to build the wealth of the white and vocally anti-Japanese family that purchased the land.
This pattern creates a template for healing and building community in Bellevue, the pattern is still working even though it was washed off the wall in a public ceremony at the end of the show.