Photography by: Daymian Mejia

Doily

Watch a video about the creation of this mural

Cruz uses liquid paint and mixes in wheat paste, paper, and print in her process. The mural is designed to evolve over time as it disintegrates, and the coloration will evolve.

This mural is on the eclectic Lydia Pinkham building, home of a vibrant artist community and Soul City Yoga. Shanel Anderson, the yoga studio owner, is the subject of the mural, watering her plants in the studio.

Fun fact: All of the artists are trained and certified in lift operating.

Damaris Cruz

artist website

@damalola

Fine arts artist, plant lover and coffee addict Damaris Cruz graduated from the University of Puerto Rico.

In 2011, Damaris presented her first solo show “Humareda,” working in response of the CAPECO oil refinery explosion. Since then, she’s participated in different collectives and events featuring live painting and mural creations in Puerto Rico and internationally.

At the present time, Damaris is working on her mural project of old abandoned wooded houses, recovering those ignored spaces and erasing the limits between the mural and the environment around of the public. Her street art style is mixed media collage using her trademark of yellow pages and photography.

Damaris’ work engages with the themes of nostalgia, abandonment and memories through images of day-to-day life, exploring beliefs and traditions through sentimentalism of tropical kitsch.

One thought on “Doily”

Stacy Amaral says:

12/30/2022 at 11:42 am

Dear Damaris Cruz,
Yesterday I was at MGH Chelsea to have a chest x-ray. Your artwork took what little breath I still had (later diagnosed with pneumonia) away. I cried and hugged myself shivering in one of those gowns they give you.
Please know how grateful I am to your beautiful art. Mil gracias

Reply

Heart + Soul

The Heart + Soul installation is a retrospective of some of the many murals and pieces of art created by artists in collaboration with Beyond Walls. In the fall of 2020, Beyond Walls presented the street art festival Truth Be Told in Lynn, Massachusetts. The artwork featured in the Truth Be Told festival was born of the COVID-19 pandemic and explores the idiosyncrasies of the times. Heart + Soul is a collection of photographs and digital art examining the interplay between community and art. The subjects and symbols within the works reflect the resilience of the diverse people where they reside. As the photographs celebrate the community, Heart + Soul aims to create space that not only reflects the vibrant diversity of the staff and patient community, but celebrates them.

This collection is the result of generous donations from Mass General Imaging and the MGH Office of Equity and Community Health.