THE GUEST HOUSE

Groundswell Community Mural Project ©
www.groundswellmural.org

Acrylic on Wall
5 x 7 ft
2010

Lead Artist: Chris Soria
Artists Team: 10 Adult Inmates, ages 20-54.
Location: 7-Upper Building at Eric M. Taylor Center (EMTC), Rikers Island, NY.
Community Partners: NYC Department of Corrections, Fortune Society R.I.D.E. Program

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

A group of adult inmates on Rikers Island Corrections Facility worked with artist Chris Soria to create a mural based on a poem. The group were presented with two poems to read, discuss, and choose which one they wanted to use as a theme and inspiration for the mural. They unanimously decided on using, “The Guest House” by Rumi. Before working with materials, participants were posed to picture a scene through visualization, and imagine imagery provided by and inspired by the text. This activity allowed participants who were less comfortable drawing to engage the subject using pure imagination. The images that the group generated were assimilated into the collective design and articulated by the artists. In the mural a labyrinth is revealed in the shape of a man. In his arms, he holds a large hourglass in which sand pours through. In the sand are small bricks with inscribed words from the poem – joy, depression, meanness, awareness, sorrow, honor, shame, malice, grateful, and laughter. A vibrant aura radiates from the center of the labyrinth. To the left is an open door with a person entering it, and to the right is a door with a person exiting. The team became increasingly impressed with how the mural blossomed and were proud of having contributed something beautiful and thought provoking to the facility that ironically incarcerates them. This was a cathartic experience for a number participants who expressed it as transformative.