Flight

Created for Mural Arts project in Phladelphia.
 "Flight" is a series of life-sized and large scale murals that feature realistic paintings of Black people floating in the air. For the series, the artist talked with groups and individuals about the idea of flight-what it means to them and how we relate to it today. These conversations are followed by photo sessions, from which the murals are based. Each mural is accompanied with text that references Black authors and the subject's own words. The idea that enslaved Africans could take flight, liberating themselves, crops up many times in Black mythology dating back even before the scandal of American slavery. "This painting, 100ft in the air, is so special to me," Tatyana explains. "I lived in the building it is painted on when I was 17 years old. I've long wanted to create this series, and join Qe long list of Black artists and writers who have used the mythology of Black folk flying in their work."

At the bottom of the mural, an inscription reads: "I let go of what has weighed me down. Light as a feather, I ride the wind. Like Black folks have always done. Flying free above the structures built to confine us."