Joel Artista: Human Trafficking
Sangeeta, a woman who has been trafficked, is the central figure of this striking mural by Joel Bergner aka Joel Artista in Kolkata, India. “She is a dancer and works with the organization Kolata Sanved, which uses dance as a form of therapy for trafficking survivors,” says Bergner. “As part of this work, photographer Brooke Shaden partnered with the women and the girls to create a series of photographic self-portraits in which they each chose a pose that they felt represented their stories. Sangeeta portrayed herself having her ankle gripped by a menacing hand, while she reached toward another hand for support. When Kolata Sanved collaborator Laura Price showed me this photograph, I was moved by the image and the story behind it, and received permission to use it as the central figure in the mural.”
Nemos: Eating the Earth
“I lived in Milan in Italy for a while and because I come from a small city surrounded by countryside, this big city seemed like a desert of cement to me, the skyline was barely visible!” says artist Nemos of this piece. “Every huge metropolis seems like the stain of oil that looks still but is slowly expanding and gulping everything down! I felt the necessity to show and tell the story of the expanding city that feeds on nature and expels cement waste!”
Blu: The Cost of Corporate Overlords
This mural by Blu, taking up almost an entire building and working within its architecture, features an oversized man wearing a crown of corporate logos, sucking South America dry through a straw.
David Shillinglaw and Lily Mixe – Climate Change is Real
For Earth Day 2015, Lily Mixe collaborated with artist David Shillinglaw on the mural ‘Climate Change is Real,’ located in Brooklyn.
