LABOR DAY 2021 with Maxx242 and Nico Cathcart
We were fortunate to welcome back former muralists Nico Cathcart and Maxx242 over Labor Day Weekend 2021! It was great to get together with old friends and get back to making large scale murals!
Nico Cathcart’s finished mural is named “Cosmos,” and is part of her Symbiotic series, focusing on the interconnected relationship between humans and the earth. We share a symbiotic relationship, and our day to day actions have an effect on the environment, whether it be the disappearance of pollinators, greenspace in urban neighborhoods or the temperature rise affecting our sea ice. Nico uses a contemporary take on the traditional memento mori genre, the focus on human skulls, surrounded by flora and fauna begs the viewer to consider their own mortality, while highlighting the fragile connection between ourselves and the environment. She asks the viewer to empathize with the earth and realize that survival depends on actions taken to address climate change.
This mural can be viewed at 40 Greenleaf St., Rochester, NY 14609. As it is on a business roll-door, the optimal viewing hours are after 5pm during the week and anytime on the weekends.
Maxx242’s mural is named “Mother.” Maxx had this to say . . .
“A tribute to all women and their ability to create and support life. I grew up in a Hispanic household. My mother was the foundation and the backbone of the family and the home. My father was never around and left completely my first year of high school. My mother just kept going. Working and taking care of the house. It wasn’t easy for her. When she passed away, I realized that if the shoe was on the other foot, my father would never, and could never do what my mother did. Women have this fierce strength inside of them, as a mother, a daughter, as family, and in our community. Thank you for everything you do, for having the strength to keep it together when the world around you was falling apart. For fighting and winning when you were told you couldn’t. It is your time, today, and tomorrow. Even if today is cloudy, the future is bright. Thank you mom, for making me the man I am today.”
This mural can be viewed at the corner of 40 Greenleaf St., Rochester, NY 14609 and Atlantic Avenue.