Artist Victor Quinonez aka Marka27 recently knocked out this new mural in Southwest Detroit to coincide with our Cinco de Mayo group exhibition. Check out Marka27’s work the recent group exhibition and read on for the story behind the mural and photos from 1xRUN photographer Sal Rodriguez below…
“Once I found out that Southwest Detroit is a predominantly Mexican neighborhood I jumped at the opportunity because it’s not everyday that I get to paint a mural for my culture and my heritage, so that meant a lot to me as an artist. With the mural that I ended up painting in Detroit, I wanted to paint a character that kind of represented this kind of deity or saint type of character, not necessarily with an religious intention, but just so it is giving off that vibe that it is there to protect Southwest Detroit. I want it to be an emblem to encourage people to come to the neighborhood with good intentions and that is where the concept started…
…I was very highly influenced by Mexican culture, the big multi-colored background, it all ties back to serapes or Mexican blankets. The character has this giant gold halo, which kind of represents that deity type level of protection, keeping guard. All these elements were familiar for me growing up as a Mexican kid growing up in a predominantly Catholic family and seeing this kind of imagery everywhere, it really resonates within me on a personal level. At the same time a lot of the locals have come up to me and said that they really like the mural, that even if they don’t quite understand exactly what it is about, they definitely connect with it…
…So far the response from the locals have been really positive, they definitely want to see more cultural style murals in their neighborhood. What is amazing about Southwest is that it is rich in culture and flavor, and it would be great to see artists from all backgrounds go down there and participate and put up these big beautiful murals up in an area that can use it.” – Marka27
-1xRUN
Words by Marka27 – you can follow him @marka_27
Photos by 1xRUN photographer Sal Rodriguez. You can read 1xRUN’s recent interview with Sal Rodriguez in the 1xNews Interviews section, see his photos documenting Jesus Benitez’s Detroit residency in the 1xNews Streets section ond follow him @eljefe313