20. Shantell Martin Mural at Rockaway Playground
Photo by Jorge Marrón
Undulating and interwoven white lines on the black surface of the “Big Yard” Seaside playground at Waterside Children’s Studio School make up a new 16,000-square-foot mural by award-winning artist Shantell Martin. Located near the new Rockaway Hotel and used by 700 students and numerous community members, the outdoor recreational space provides the ground for Martin to showcase her mural to pedestrians as well as guests who look down from the rooftop of the Rockaway Hotel.
The mural consists of iconic, monochromatic black and white interconnected lines, Martin’s signature style of drawing, that come together in various text and image formats in an effort to inject more energy and aesthetics into the Rockaway community and its urban beach landscape. “Because of the scale, there are multiple ways to experience the piece. What you have on the ground is very different from the experience you have of it from a higher perspective where you get to see how the lines, words, and faces are actually interacting with each other,” Martin said. “It’s all about discovery and letting people interact with it the way they naturally feel inclined to.”