Shipyard artist Afatasi the Artist‘s 500-foot mural banner “Motifs and Modalities” will be installed on Evans Ave. on Nov. 14 along the fence of the Southeast Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Afatasi writes: “I worked alongside the San Francisco Arts Commission and local San Francisco graphic artist Sophia Tupuola. It is a labor of love celebrating the unique history of The Great Migration in San Francisco, featuring colorful patterns and motifs, charming Afro-Pop Art, and our beautiful Frisco Culture. My hope is that every time you pass by, you are reminded of how lucky we are to have a connection in such a wonderful city.”
You are invited to view the installation of the “Motifs and Modaltites” banner:
Tuesday, November 14, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Evans Avenue between Phelps and Rankin
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From the San Francisco Arts Commission’s announcement:
Afatasi The Artist is a member of San Francisco’s only shrinking demographic. Her work is informed by her deep concern of the continued population decline of her community, affirming them through mixed-media textile, metal, and research-based artworks that are used as vehicles of disruption, exploration, and future-dreaming.
Measuring 500 feet in length, Afatasi’s monumental mural features a series of motifs that are deployed as a mode of visual storytelling, highlighting various facets of her community’s experience, history, and cultural identity. The distinctive patterns that repeat across the background of each mural section seek to honor Afatasi and her community’s unique lineage and history both locally and nationally; deep appreciation and respect for their ancestors, elders, and architects of freedom; continued fight for human rights in the United States; “Black-American” culture and beauty created under extreme duress; and the understanding that everything in the past, present and future is connected.
Displayed along the length of the mural are excerpts from Afatasi’s ongoing series Afro Block Party, featuring pop art-style portraits of various art historical, pop culture, and local personalities reinterpreted as cartoon characters with different Afro hairstyles. For more information about the artist’s Afro Block Party series and the meanings behind the five motifs she created for this project, please visit www.afatasi.com.
