I have driven by the Liberty Lumber Yard for years. I have purchased wood there and I like the feel of the place. It has the genuine air of a solid family business, a hand painted flag in its yard and a great street presence. The surrounding locale of this site encompasses a broad, thriving spectrum of commerce - supermarkets, building materials, restaurants & fast food, pet supplies, printers, a hospital, drugstore, banks and so on. It also dovetails nicely with, and is a literal support for, the notion behind the work.
In this mural the mule character opposes itself in a push that is in fact derived from the image of a pull, yoke & traces invisible, across undulating red and white stripes that mimic hills and field. The mule functions here as a proxy for any working person navigating the ebb and flow of earning a living and endeavoring to push forward.
The project was done as a satellite to the New Orleans based biennial, P.2.
