“Plant Sanctuary”
Artist: Safiya Wharton
Curator: Mural Miles
Sponsor: Lily Development
Artist Statement.
“In the beginning of the quarantine, I can vividly remember being on my phone all day to pass the time. Scrolling through Instagram eventually made each day blend together. It felt monotonous. I realized that I needed to reprioritize my focus for the sake of my own mental health.”
“One day at the market, I was mesmerized by this beautiful little succulent. Before you know it, several plants quickly became a part of my daily routine, and décor. Also, there was a positive change in my mood and overall mental health. I can’t imagine being without a plant now.”
— Safiya Wharton
About the location
The site of this project coincidentally has a strong tie to public art, as the previous building was once the studio of muralist Meg Saligman. Meg has created over 40 pieces of public art around the world, and her murals in Philadelphia were considered to be a catalyst for the contemporary mural movement.
Finding Sanctuary
The goal of this project was to create a temporary art installation at a construction site, to help make the worksite a bit more pleasing to the eye and appealing to the neighborhood. Mural Miles reached out to local art-focused universities in Philadelphia with a call for entries, hoping to connect and collaborate with a student artist. The call for entries asked students to submit projects that focused on mental health, physical health and/or wellness, and we were thrilled to receive Safiya’s beautiful and appropriately themed illustrations.
About Safiya.
Safiya Wharton was born in February 2001 in Philadelphia, PA. She was raised in West Philadelphia, where she first developed a love for drawing. Safiya was initially inspired in the early 2000s by cartoon like Samuri Jack (2001) and Justice League (2001) due to balance of the visual language and storytelling. After graduation from CAPA in 2019, Safiya received a full scholarship to attend the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (PAFA), majoring in Illustration with a minor in Animation. With her newfound training, Safiya creates illustrations and animated stories based on fantastical and fictional representation that primarily feature people of color.