_ writing on the walls: text inside / out, oaxaca, mexico --- 2006

"in the 5th c. b.c. graffiti poems were scratched onto the rock face of sigiriya -- the rock fortress of a despot king. short verses to the painted women in the frescoes which spoke of love in all its confusions and brokenness. poems to mythological women who consumed and overcame mundane lives. the phrases saw breasts as perfect swans; eyes were long and clean as horizons. the anonymous poets returned again and again to the same metaphors. beautiful. false. compare. these were the first folk poems of the country," michael ondaatje


In this project contiguous space will be explored while attempting to redefine muralism through observation and actions in text and image. The project is an attempt to connect disparate spaces to one another and other physically and ephemerally through exercises in text and image, so as to form an unbroken sequence of thoughts and ideas. In creating this "disjointed narrative," youth will write poetic segments throughout the city that, when read together, will form a contextual story or message, revealing a continuous thought or concept. These ideas will address the concept of walls, figurative and literal, that participants deal with daily. Using the rhythm of text as an organizer of infinite time and image to organize or infinite space, the aesthetic realm of the project will create a mural of image and sound.

Once the work has been composed as deemed appropriate by youth participants, "Hot spots" where text/image will appear will be installed throughout the community - our "audience," Oaxaca city community, will then receive a map of the youths "poetic walking tour of walls." this tour can be led by the youth or be taken privately.

Specific attention will be paid to the current changes taking place in the city of Oaxaca. Participants will engage in an interdisciplinary research that reaches into areas of sociology, cultural studies, politics and ecology (specifically addressing changes in demographics, business ownership, politics, ecology, etc.).