The Breath of Life
Salt Lake County / Eccles Theater
8' x 75'
Vinyl-applied digital mural
2025
A mural-scale vinyl illustration installed in the heart of downtown Salt Lake City. On the front facade of SLC's most prestigious theater, the piece serves as a backdrop for weekly arts activations as a part of the Open Streets summer festivities, while the interior space is closed for renovations. The mural begins in prehistory, with oral tradition breathing the first stories into existence - a breath that becomes a living current, weaving its way through the entire composition. From there, the imagery travels through the oral traditions and early written epics of Sanskrit literature, into the monumental dramas of ancient Greece, and onward into the rich symbolic worlds of fairy tales and Shakespearean theater. It follows the birth of cinema, the rise of comic book heroes, and the visions of science fiction, before arriving at the creation of the computer, digital modeling, and the emergence of artificial intelligence. Storytelling, in this arc, becomes a mirror of our own transformation as a species - and as the mural reaches the present moment, it invites reflection on where our collective imagination, and our society itself, may be headed next. Throughout, figures and symbols flow together across time, all connected by the shared breath of imagination - a reminder that even as our tools change, the soul of storytelling endures. In developing the imagery, I took special care to honor the spirit of iconic references while thoughtfully adapting them to avoid direct copyright concerns. Characters and symbols have been reimagined with greater cultural balance and inclusivity, recognizing the diverse audience that this public space serves. The design also respects the intent of the site requirements around window visibility, allowing light and openness to remain part of the experience while bringing dynamic life to the facade. Every choice I made was guided by a desire to welcome viewers into the ongoing, living story of humanity.
