APPROACH
For this project, I wanted to create a mural to speak on the story of the "MOVE" bombing, where the Philadelphia Police Department dropped a bomb on a neighborhood in West Philly. Known as the Africa house, John Africa and his family were known to disrupt the community by using a megaphone to promote their message. They were also known to violently fight with the police. Regardless of what they were to the neighborhood, or how they live their life, or their tactics they used with the police, it is absolutely no excuse to exterminate a household with an explosive device.
It was very important for me to state the facts so that when people see them, they could read them and sit with them. I wanted to come from a place of awareness and educating others instead of an angry place or a place of frustration. I also wanted to convey destruction. The word extermination was the only word that could really explain what was done to this group of people. The teddy bear speaks to children trapped in the house and the hand print on the door knob speaks to the family trying to escape but being shot at to keep them inside. Lastly, the words are red as if they are written in blood. This is one of Philadelphia's hidden histories that doesn't get spoken of much.
Mural Celebration Night
Refined Sketches
Thumbnails
