Periscope is excited to announce that a new mural has been installed on the side of our headquarters building. The work is by artist Yiqiao Wang, who came to the United States from Beijing to study at Gallaudet University, in Washington, D.C., and the Savannah College of Art and Design. She has created gorgeous murals at Gallaudet’s Maguire Welcome Center and at the first U.S. Starbucks Signing Store, also in D.C., where the staff can communicate via American Sign Language.
Yi’s artist statement expresses that she took special care to incorporate elements representing our home state, including the loon bird, an iconic image for Minnesota, as well as waves representing our magnificent lakes. She also describes how she tied Periscope’s mission into her illustration, emphasizing fearlessness, truth and opportunity.
It is our plan going forward to display new public art on the side of our building every year to amplify and celebrate a range of diverse artist voices with inspiring stories to tell. We will continue to issue creative briefs as we did this time to seek out these stories. We are thrilled to have Yi’s work displayed for all of Minneapolis to enjoy, and we look forward to working with other great artists in the future.
Yiqiao Wang
Artist Statement
October 2021
I was honored to get the opportunity to work with Periscope, and to learn and be inspired by the beautiful, powerful words from their brief, “See the Unseen.”
The concept led me to create the loon bird illustration, using the red-eyed bird that is an iconic image for the state of Minnesota.
I illustrated the loon with its full wingspan and body length visible above a lake with waves. There is a sense of its wings spreading movement, including concentric lines, vibrating colors and geometric shapes that blended to create new patterns on a bold composition.
Two keywords that inspired this work are majestic and feminine. These terms represent the loon’s soul and determination. They are characterized by feeling fearless, seeking truth, seeking the beauty of uncovering opportunities, which all reflect the heart of Periscope’s mission. I thought of these concepts and built on them by playing with lines, colors, shapes and composition placement to represent the meaning of beauty and dignity, using my signature design color scheme to convey the majestic emotions.
The single loon appears to be searching for opportunity with determination, its red eye symbolizing awareness of the unseen situation. It holds a hidden wisdom that something big and beautiful will happen.
