RAINBOW CROSSWALKS
In 2012 Duvander was behind the concept of the Rainbow Crosswalk painted in West Hollywood at the historic route 66, the intersection of San Vincente and Santa Monica Boulevard has long been the meeting point for the American civil rights movement. By petitioning the West Hollywood city council it was initially thought of as bing a pop up, but due to huge local support it became a permanent landmark, which can now be seen from satellites.
Later was involved in helping the Lord Mayor of Sydney to install one in Sydney. There after it sparked a global movement of its own and spread to cities all over the world including Toronto, Utrecht, Phoenix, San Francisco, Atlanta, San Antonio, Brighton, Seattle, Denver, Vancouver, Maplewood to name just a few.
SAVE FAZIL!
SAVE FAZIL! was a project to support the internationally known Turkish pianist and composer who had been charged with insulting Islamic religious values in comments he made on a Twitter account – including a joke about a call to prayer.
The idea was simple; to portray Mr. Say in a painting to raise awareness of his trial via social media and put pressure on the Turkish government, and make a statement to both Turkey and the EU, Mr. Say Further had also served as a culture ambassador for the European Union, in the name of civil rights and freedom of expression.
So by working with the office of Fazil Say, and more importantly the lawyers, the painting ‘E Pluribus Unum’ was made and used for social media.
The trial was held on October 18, 2012 where if convicted Mr. Say could face eighteen months in prison. Luckily the case was later dropped due to public pressure.
THE PAINTING
The painting E Pluribus Unum – latin for ” out of many, one” symbolizes Fazil Say’ personal view that freedom of opinion is a universal right. In the painting Duvander was trying to capture the motion that he, Fazil Say, speaks for many and hence it is a tree of faces saying the same thing. The tree symbolizes nature and harmony and the pink background is a much more toned down version of red, which is the symbol of revolution and passion. The ‘edginess’ of the background is to promote a feeling of street art feel, a voice of the people the “huddled masses yearning to breathe free”.
