As street artist Mel Waters last week was creating a memorial mural in San Francisco’s Clarion Alley, dedicated to a young couple who died in December’s Ghost Ship warehouse fire, across the bay in Oakland his friend Norman “Vogue” Chuck was painting a tribute to all 36 victims of the tragic incident.
Vogue’s massive mural, located on East 12th Street between 22nd and 23rd avenues, pictures a galleon, sailing toward a bright horizon, followed by 36 white doves. A giant scroll lists the names of all 36 victims.
“People wanted something uplifting,’’ said the San Leandro artist. “I hope it helps with the healing process of the victims’ families and friends, and the neighborhood.’’
The timing of both murals was purely coincidental — neither artist knew about the other’s project, nor apparently did any of the victims’ relatives or friends.
Passersby are emotional when they see it, Vogue said. “They realize what it is because it’s close to where the fire was,’’ he noted.
The idea for the mural came together with the help of Sage Loring of Fuming Guerilla Productions, a company that facilitates commissioned public and private urban art. Loring reached out to Vogue, and to the private owner of the building for permission to erect the mural, finished over the weekend. Jetty Extracts, a medical cannabis extract company in Oakland, helped to cover the cost of the project, as did Montana Colors.
