Embracing the messy beauty of food, fate, and folklore—painted boldly on a shipping container
Client: Nostrana
Special thanks to: Fiona lacey
This piece is for Nostrana, the very Portland, very contemporary Italian restaurant. Located in their magical urban food farm across from Revolution Hall, this piece covers three sides of a 40ft shipping container.
Opportunity
This urban farm serves as more than produce supply. It's a space where the restaurant wants to hold wine tastings, pop-ups + parties. A mural at this scale, on their storage container, creates the perfect, revelrous backdrop for all of their brand activations. Located across from a major music venue, a popular cafe, a busy street, and the restaurant itself, it's tucked in plain sight for those with a curious eye.
Approach
In order to create something unique, reflecting Nostrana's distinctive blend of modern Portland and crafted Italian, I dug into the rich folklore around food and found a delicious thru-line: Bacchus' revelry. Recalled for his mischief, this god represents something much deeper, and needed in our society- joie de vivre! I saw this as an opportunity to remind folks of the simplest pleasures + what each moment offers.
Result:
Lush and colorful, this shipping container is like no other. It's split into three parts: A short side facing Revolution Hall depicting Bacchus' maenads (dance), the long, his table (feast), and the short side facing Morrison, a leopard with his specter (a hop, celebrating portland's beer culture) welcoming the farmer + guarding the door to the container.
Resourcefulness was a key component of this project.
The Maenads, dancing gleefully.
An important symbol in Afghan + Persian culture, the Pomegranate is a favorite addition to this piece.
The sketch phase.
