Michele StuevenLos Angeles-based Egyptian artist Sherin Guirguis’s work Rise has been unveiled at the recently opened Aviation/Century Metro Station near Los Angeles International Airport on an elevated light rail station along the K-Line at the intersection of Aviation Boulevard and Century Boulevard.
Known for her work exploring cultural identity and lost feminist histories, Rise is meant to reflect the diversity of the surrounding neighborhood and the rest of Los Angeles County. It represents individuals who migrated into the area, many of whom may face tremendous challenges. The artwork is located on the platform and fence and is a richly colored piece filled with countless yellow and blue designs and patterns. The bright color of the piece stands out for blocks to drivers passing underneath the station.
Artist Sherin Guirguis at the Aviation/Century Metro Station (Michele Stueven)
Guirguis was selected through an open competitive selection process out of 1200 applicants, following the recommendation of a panel of community-based artist professionals. She collaborated with the local organization Free Arts to develop a workshop for the youth the organization serves. Through an art-making activity, students were introduced to the unique techniques of painting and papercutting which she used in her commissioned artwork.
“I really connected with it because we immigrated here from Egypt when I was 12 years old and I remember coming through LAX for the first time,” Guirguis tells L.A. Weekly from the bustling platform staffed with Metro ambassadors. “We took a taxi ride to Arcadia that seemed three days long, so I was excited to do this particular station. I took patterns and decorative ornamental elements from around the neighborhood that have cultural significance to build out this pattern for the station. The fence is the most prominent piece of the station, and you can see it from blocks away and shows how art can have an actual impact on its immediate community.”
She started with Mashrabiya patterns from her own culture and drove around picking up elements from sidewalks, fences, and tiles on people’s floors in the surrounding community.
“This neighborhood and those near here have a lot of different heritages and histories,” she says. The golden color of the fence embodies the idea of spirituality in the broadest of senses and is meant to be uplifting like a sunset.”
The panels on the side of the station reflect being on the coast in California, combining the colors of the sky and the water and connecting the idea of migration through water and land.
“I paint these huge panels and lay them down in my studio in Highland Park and push the paint around to get kinetic energy to embody the idea of moving people and places.
Movement and Migration (Courtesy L.A. Metro)
The metro art program is allotted a minimum of half a percent of the total construction cost for any transit production project to public art. It aims to impact riders and respond to the surrounding community.
“One of the things we’ve heard from community members is a desire for artwork that you can see even if you’re not riding the system,” says Zipporah Yamamoto, Metro’s Deputy Executive Officer of Arts and Community Enrichment. “The panel was looking for something that would speak to this particular location. All of the artwork in the system is site-specific and responsive, distinguishing one neighborhood from another, and this is the gateway to the airport with people coming from all over the world. Sherin’s proposal really spoke to that and connected this place with our system in a unique way. The panel was also looking for artwork that regular commuters could see day after day that could remain timeless as well as welcome newcomers for the first time.”