Octopi Oakland - a conversation

This gallery describes a conversation between the artist and a wall on Mandela Parkway in West Oakland, between January 8 - 19, 2016...

Our conversation begins after a personal event pushed me to follow through on my threat, of making

unsanctioned street art in broad daylight.

The site is around the corner from me, and carries special significance. Several months ago, a homeless man's encampment was set on fire there, in the middle of the night. I saw the wreckage and spoke to the man the next day. He was awakened in the middle of the night by someone living in an RV down the block, and barely got out alive. There was no rhyme or reason to it, he'd been living there for weeks, keeping an eye on the lot behind this wall. In the months that followed, the burnt remains of his belongings were cleared away, but the eyesore of the wall remained. Every day the wall reminded me of the negligence of a city overwhelmed by poverty, crime, and a lack of resources.

Before - preexisting images, January 8, 2016

Octopi 1, Jan 8, 2016

For 3 days, my octopus existed unmolested and incomplete. The day after I had completed and signed the wall OMO, this happened. January 11, 2016

I repainted over the tags, removed my "signature" and changed his expression.The octopus is angry. January 11, 2016

All was quiet for several days, then this happened and I was disheartened. A Spanish speaking friend of mine explained to me that "sigue" means continue, or follow. As in "go on". Rather than taking this in the negative, I decided to take it as encouragement. January 16, 2016

Undaunted, I took sigue - "carry on" as a challenge, and decided to integrate the two images in a way that respected the other artist. It has been several weeks now, and no one has touched it

It rained the night after I painted into Sigue, so this is where it leaves off. Faded, but all clearly visible. Its been several weeks now, and no one has defaced either image. Peace.