LIVE LIFE AS IF YOU WERE TO DIE TOMORROW; LEARN AS IF YOU WERE TO LIVE FOREVER -- Gandhi

Above: A preliminary drawing for the Athens Teen Mural.

The mural is located on a retaining wall at the corner of Stimson Avenue and East State Street in Athens.

Muralist: Lisa Trocchia
and TEAM Athens teens.

Back to: TEAM Athens mural project and FAQ

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Athens Teen Mural
Artist Statement: Lisa Trocchia, muralist

This drawing is a conceptual representation and not a finished, site-specific design. The image represents the basic elements that the teens wish to have represented in their mural as a result of some three months of planning and facilitated discussion. A scale drawing of the final mural design will be completed and submitted to the appropriate officials upon approval of a site.

The wall will be painted black from the center graduating to a dark blue with the blue fading off at each end. Silhouettes of the teens will appear as "cut-outs" on this dark field revealing a mandala hidden beneath.

The silhouettes will appear in various positions-taking advantage of the slope of the hill. In gesture, some will be working together to create a "window" central to the wall where, (through their cut-out silhouettes) they reveal the brilliant reflective center of the mandala. In contrast, other silhouettes on the wall will be sitting, talking, dancing--hanging out.

What is revealed beneath their silhouettes is part of the mandala, but it is the tail end which fades off into a color field. The subtle message is that the more interesting and vibrant silhouettes are those engaged in cooperative activity.

The mandala was chosen to symbolically represent the experiences, perspectives and feelings of the teens. Traditionally used in meditation as a source for finding focus and meaning, the mandala form has been used for centuries in many cultures. The teens are very interested in conveying a symbolic message--one that speaks to people in a different way each time they look at it.

They want to honor the multicultural experience of growing up in Athens and felt the mandala was the best tool to draw people together without words. As a tool for communication it is very powerful because it is comprised of concentric rings radiating from a center point.

The symbolism of eternity (a shape without beginning or end) combines with a form (the circle) central to our entire existence--from the molecular level to the rotation of the planets. The center of the mandala, which is within a very radiant "eye-like" ring, is broken mirrored-glass which has been grouted (safely) into a circular shape.

The reflection is distorted--directly effecting the way you see things--the message of the mural. The rings of the mandala each have symbolic meaning to the teens. Some rings represent the elements--earth, wind, fire, water--and others, like a ring of Athens Brick, represent what they value about the heritage of the place they live in.

Typically, the mandala has four entrances or exits, that may be associated with the four directions. These are symbolically represented by the four sets of hands extended to create the space to see the mandala's center. As teens they wish to be immortal--part of why we are preserving the exact "them" in silhouette forms.

But beyond that, they have chosen the human form as a symbol to represent humanity. Their gestures speak of cooperation, of tolerance, and of their collective ability to reveal a "window to think through."

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