hebru brantley puts goggles on ai weiwei in miami’s wynwood district

during miami art week, chicago-based creative hebru brantley added his personal signature to an existing street artwork in the city’s wynwood district. on the façade of an art gallery on northwest second avenue, brantley has donned a monochromatic portrait of chinese artist ai weiwei with a pair of colorful, steampunk-style goggles. painted directly onto the existing mural by an ‘unknown artist’ (which we later discovered is the work of nimai kesten) brantley used yellow, black and grey spray paint to reinterpret the portrait through his own artistic lens. 

image © designboom

designboom was in wynwood watching hebru brantley first hand as he completed the artwork on the gallery’s exterior wall. the goggles he added to nimai kesten’s portrait of ai weiwei are a trademark element of his personal style and are used throughout his sculptural and painted works. brantley’s signature steampunk goggles are often integrated into his depictions of youthful characters and mixed-media illustrations, where he blends the bold aesthetic of street art with japanese anime motifs.

inside the art space in miami — located at 2450 NW 2nd avenue — brantley presents a solo exhibition from now through january 7, 2017 titled ‘theories from the low end‘. presented by alex pirez and thomas cabrerizo (with sponsor courvoisier) the show investigates themes of modern folklore, society’s ritualistic impulses, and the changing dynamics of american mythology. 

image © designboom

image © designboom

image © designboom

watch hebru brantley paint goggles on ai weiwei in miami
video by designboom

image © designboom

image © designboom

almost done…
video by designboom

image © designboom

image © designboom

image © designboom

image © designboom

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