Mandi Caskey’s
Chance Medley
“It’s in these patterned thoughts that I find myself devoured. In response, I have to fight the very instinct that makes me me. We are all the predator and the prey.”
“Chance Medley” opened on Wednesday, October 11th. The 90×22 ft. installation is a mixed media mural by Columbus artist, Mandi Caskey. The piece was intended to be a juxtaposition both physically with the surrounding environment and internally with one’s self — “a journey of serenity encountering its counterpart, chaos.”
The Inspiration
The opposite of serenity is chaos.
I wanted to create a mural that contrasts with every aspect of its environment. The painting using deep hues of blue and green, but with reds and oranges as the main ingredient. I wanted to portray a shark frenzy, a beautiful composition of massive sharks eating and swimming among all the chaos of the fish fleeing.
One of the most beautiful sights to paint is light refraction in water, probably one of the hardest to do as well. This painting wasn’t designed to illustrate any gore or pain; it’s more about the light, color, shapes, and raw emotion that is intended to be captured. I did tons of research and gathered hundreds of photos. Blood in water would be one of the most lovely things to paint! Among all the green leafy trees, and the rustling wind between the branches, I wanted people to get glimpses of hues of bright reds floating to the sky.
In the end when people walk upon it, it’ll be a revelation of sorts. A journey of serenity encountering its perfect counterpart, chaos.
The Artist
“As any artist might say; I strive to have a purpose, a voice, and find meaning. I’m a conjunction of what’s expected and what should to be revived. As foolish as this sounds, I feel my thoughts race to my fingertips while my brain conjoins my unidentified logic. Most of my work is fueled by emotional havoc, whether its inner turmoil or a reflection of my surroundings. I gather a mix breed of ambiguous perceptions and recreate a feeling. I want my viewers to engage in a conversation with the work, place themselves in a vulnerable state to receive unguided honesty. I use a whim of mix media thrown into an elegant dance of line vs. texture.
I dropped out of art school to pursue greater inspiration, becoming the street artist Birdy seemed like the only option to rebirth my joy for creating. When gallery work collides with illegal expression something magnificent happens, contemporary muralism turns into a full-time job. From painting on the top floor of the largest building in Columbus Ohio, to painting under a street light in Shelby Park Kentucky. I place the utmost attention to the communities and individuals that engage with their environment. My hope is to activate the imagination of urban and rural developments so the future of the movement becomes the strength of the people.”