Artwork Description
Swoon – George 1
Dimensions: 84 x 69″ finished size
Year: 2016
Medium: block print on mylar with gouache and watercolor
wash
Edition: 4/7
Caledonia Curry, whose work appears under the name Swoon, is a Brooklyn-based artist and is widely known as the first woman to gain large-scale recognition in the male-dominated world of street art. Callie took to the streets of New York while attending the Pratt Institute of Art in 1999, pasting her paper portraits to the sides of buildings with the goal of making art and the public space of the city more accessible.
Swoon met George through the Mural Arts Philadelphia. While George was initially particularly withdrawn, he and Swoon connected deeply over the experience of growing up with parents struggling with addiction. Over their time together, George came to open up about a profound psychological and physical wound he sustained when, at six years old, he lost the tips of his fingers while playing with dynamite. In this loving rendering of George, Swoon made the conscious decision to draw his hand front and center and illustrate the beauty and compassion in his face. In this way, she expresses, “I see you, and no matter what has happened to you, I see your wholeness and your perfection.”