This mural is approximately 8 1/2'T x 22'L. I painted it across a series of Mondays through September and October. It is for a new Mayan-inspired "underwater ruin" exhibit at the Aquarium of the Americas here in New Orleans. It is based on photos they provided of actual ancient murals inside of a Mayan pyramid, which wrapped around the entire interior wall of the pyramid.
One section of that mural, which is inside of the Bonampak pyramid, represented some sort of feast, or parade, for their underwater god. There is a striking similarity to a Mardi Gras parade because the people are masked and costumed and there are several people playing horns. Every New Orleanian who sees it is reminded of a second line parade. Supposedly, our New Orleans tradition dates back to spring planting celebrations in Europe, which evolved into Mardi Gras celebrations in Paris hundreds of years ago, but there is no denying that masking, drumming and revelry are an innate part of human expression!
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