Google Art Activation
Mountain View, CA | 2023
The mural is made of 195 drawn and painted stencils. 195 alluding to the number of nations around the world. You, as part of the mural community, can choose from several designs created by Irene, inspired by traditional patterns from some of these nations. This subset of countries were chosen to symbolically unite the world and consider how we can all participate in supporting each other and sharing knowledge and wealth. The countries are some of the richest (USA, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Luxembourg, Singapore, Norway and Germany), some of the poorest (Nicaragua, Haiti, Myanmar, Burundi, Central African Republic, Mozambique, Niger) as well as the nationalities most represented here in the Bay Area (USA, Mexico, China, India, Philippines, Ohlone). One would never know, by looking at the tiles, if it belongs to a wealthy nation or a poor one. The richness of the country is evident in it’s artistic production.
Each tile is hand drawn and/or painted through a stencil thus creating a unique image that speaks to the rights and responsibilities of the individual. The size and final number of tiles correlates to the worldwide global community we all belong to. Individual/community. Nation/world. From the singular to the plural, begging the question what can we do as an individual, what can we do as a nation to support a more equitable world?
During the months of September and October 2023 I was invited by Google to lead an art activation in their Headquarters.