The final Gargoyle, of the element Earth. He seems to have elicited a very polarized response from people…some calling him “Satanic” while others expressed a sense of awe and reverence in his presence. Either way, all three of the prints of him were buffed rather quickly.

The third Gargoyle, this one of the element Air. Inspired by Garuda and the imagery of the Thunderbirds, his wings have eyes and his feathers can be found littered all over the city, and especially near the area where he’s perched.

A bit closer to doing her justice this time. Painted with wine, blood, watercolors, acid, and light.

“The sun’s own flame buring inside Your heart

With the fiery malice of Hades’ black art;

Belching out liquid fire, a tide of crimson!

I raise up the cup and adore Babalon!”

— In Nomine Babalon: 156 Adorations to the Scarlet Goddess

Resurrect Dead – Mystére Royale.  Consort of the Black Goddess with a simple message to the public: “You can’t bring your shit with you.”

This is a piece about rebirth. The first of a new series…the Saints. This piece was a lot of fun to do and everyone in the neighborhood seemed to have a strong reaction to it. A guy in his delivery truck backed his truck up halfway down the block to get a better look, but the best was probably the old dude who worked across the street: “that shit is WEIRD!” Haha…yes, yes it is.

The title of this series, “Resurrect Dead” is an homage to the Toynbee tiles and the excellent documentary of the same name.  I remember seeing the tiles at various crossroads around Philly as a kid and being drawn to their cryptic message.  It was not until hearing of the documentary that it all came back to me, and luckily a lot of the detective work had already been done.  I highly recommend checking it out for some insight into real contemporary urban mythology.

Talismanic painting in honor of the spirit. The general reaction indicates a potent and successful result.

While installing this one, a vagrant street man came up and asked what it is.  ”A harlequin,” I said.  ”Ha.  That’s a snake,” he replied.

The creation of this piece was quite an adventure…I’ll try to write a bit more about it at some point, but if you’re sharp you should be able to pick up on some of the method to the madness.  This one is at 19th & Chestnut.