In 2020, North Shore Community College became the first public institution to commission an outdoor mural for its community, welcoming 4 RED LIGHTS to its campus. Visible by incoming Lynnway traffic, Percy Fortini-Wright’s mural captivates and inspires with a scene from the traffic light around the corner — it’s almost “out of this world.”
“4 RED LIGHTS” by Percy Fortini-Wright
Working in spray paint, I bring the “streets to the wall.” The subject is the street, directly painted on the college campus wall. I’m attracted to the wet streets, dramatic reflections and atmospheric depth that they offer as a subject. I put the viewer in the “driver’s seat” so that every person driving by can relate to the work. Driving is an experience they would have actually just had, are having or will have at some point.
I specifically used the red traffic lights to symbolize the collective feeling that things are on pause. Metaphorically speaking, my nightscape series can be seen as a light at the end of the tunnel. In a time surrounded in darkness, these lights can be seen as a brighter future approaching.
Percy Fortini-Wright is a Boston-based artist who received both his BFA and MFA from the Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University. While in his youth, he wrote graffiti, most […]
