WHERE DEMOCRACY Begins Mural

In the run-up to the 2024 congressional, state and local elections, we sought to provide eligible voters with information and resources to help them take action. In New York State, a notable ballot measure was Proposition 1, which would expand the protections of the State Constitution to include sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, reproductive healthcare and autonomy.

We seized the moment to support democracy and intersectional justice through communication design. We strove to draw attention to women’s increasingly jeopardized right to choose and make the urgency of protecting this agency unmistakable. We repurposed a revolutionary painting, Gustave Courbet’s L'Origine du monde, and installed our 18-foot-tall and 28-foot-wide hand-painted mural in a high-traffic area of Brooklyn ahead of the election. The headline “Where Democracy Begins” reminded viewers that women’s bodily autonomy is essential to a free, democratic society.

The mural put our studio in dialogue with art that challenges social mores and illuminated the continued ability of Courbet’s renowned 1866 composition to shock and trigger censorship. As approval for the installation advanced through multiple layers of review, stakeholders requested that breasts and pubic hair be increasingly cropped, echoing the erasure of femininity the proposition was intended to fight.

A provocative piece of art was only part of the project. We also organized a voter registration event and rally at the mural, featuring political speakers and collateral from organizations that protect reproductive rights. Our work was featured in several high-profile publications, including Hyperallergic and PRINT, a testament to how socially conscious design can inspire participation and conversation.