I wanted to create an image of a place that was familiar to me but not too familiar; since I’ve only been residing in NYC since the beginning of the school year, any place I’ve familiarized myself with since my arrival would be perfect. Within the criteria of the assignment, I settled upon my neighborhood train station: Church Avenue. I found it so interesting because the walls were ridden with graffiti and spray paint etchings – the cave-wall-drawings of today, as I see them.

Initially I wanted to recreate the image on a quilt, but because of time and money constraints I reverted to painting it across four different canvases. I remained true to my original idea of somehow incorporating graffiti into the image, by creating a vignette that is obscured by graffiti writing. The painting says “SOMETIMES I FEEL LIKE MY ONLY FRIEND IS THE CITY I LIVE IN, BEAUTIFUL BROOKLYN – YAASIN BEY” which is a quote by one of my favorite rappers and well-known Brooklyn native, Mos Def.