Triptych

The mural on the historic 1907 Liquid Carbonic Building façade was created during the South Downtown Atlanta Open Streets Block Party, transforming the building into a site of community engagement and contemporary expression. Designed as a triptych, the mural weaves together themes of history, identity, and place through three distinct visual panels.

The first panel interprets the street as a front porch, an innately political space. The middle panel draws inspiration from Carrie Mae Weems’s photography series Africa 1993, echoing her exploration of landscape, humanity, and memory. The third panel references the expressive tension and energy of Francis Bacon’s triptych compositions, bringing a bold, gestural abstraction that contrasts with—and completes—an interiority of the first two panels.

A key interactive feature of the project was the set of three-dimensional “ATL” letters which were machined from plywood. During the block party, children and community members were invited to paint the letters themselves, making the artwork a genuinely collaborative creation. Once installed proud of the mural surface, the letters project outward, creating depth and shadow while offering a tactile, physical experience.

Location: Nelson Street, South Downtown Atlanta, GA, 2024

Partners: Cat Eye Creative, ATL Department of City Planning, Atlanta Ventures