
The crew and I just finished this small mural at Factory Town in the Little Haiti district of Miami. The project was curated by my friend Casey from Known Gallery, and I was proud to paint with a great group, including Revok and Risk.
The “They Live We Sleep” mural is inspired by several things. My original interest in skulls came from their recurrent presence in skateboard and punk rock iconography of the 80s. Especially the Powell Peralta “Bones Ripper” illustrated by Vernon Courtlandt Johnson. I was also a big fan of Lance Mountain’s and Ric Clayton’s skull drawings for Suicidal Tendencies. Skulls were also a prominent part of the alien ghoul characters in the movie “They Live,” which inspired my use of the word OBEY in my art. Graffiti on a wall in the movie “They Live” said “They Live We Sleep”. That graffiti basically summed up the premise of the film… that the powerful get away with nefarious acts and manipulation because we are not conscious enough of what is really going on. In the case of this mural, I’ve pulled from all of those influences and added an oil derrick in the forehead of this particular skull to focus on the (in my opinion) greatest threat to our health and the planet’s health. The money pattern is a reminder that greed is the driving force. Regardless of what corporations and science deniers say, those of us with a conscience can’t sleep on climate change!
-Shepard

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