Irene Juarez O’Connell on Community Healing & Wellness

What was your inspiration for this mural?

Irene: The people. The concept of community-based healing is something that I am always curious about, so when I was approached to do this mural I was really excited. It feels like a natural combination of my work, as a community organizer, visual artist, and as someone who is very interested in traditional healing modalities, specifically and my role as a visual artist. For this mural, I selected six figures who I have had the privilege to meet throughout the community and who I consider bring healing in some way to the community or are embodying or practicing a version of healing that doesn’t often get portrayed in dominate media. I wanted the figures to represent experiences and identities that don’t often get invited to the table when policy is being drawn up or when conversations around health and safety are being considered. I wanted to make sure that each of the people portrayed had a chance to have their story told.

In addition to the mural, I’ve invited each of them to share with me a recording of themselves answering questions along the lines of what does community healing look like to you, what does healing look like to you, what is your medicine. That is why each of them are portrayed with an item that represents their healing in some way.

I wanted this mural to be a testament to the power of mutual aid and grassroots networks and trust networks. One thing that I will be painting at the bottom, in the soil, is mycelium. Mycelium is an intelligent life force that forms networks under the soil and connects the pulse of all the living organisms. The mycelium's underground networks of intelligence sustain the ecosystems. I want to allow that to reflect the kind of care networks we are practicing in our community here in Santa Cruz and beyond.

It’s like the nervous system of the soil. It’s also related to why I have the purple flowers on the edge. Bougainvillea flowers, these flowers in traditional Mexican herbalism help with respiratory issues. Which is particularly relevant now with the pandemic and now the fires. These flowers help with respiratory issues and their deep purple color is also known to help relieve grief. I wanted the people that I portray to be held in that and for the viewer to feel like they are also in a large grove of bougainvillea flowers. And that is where my personal statement as an artist comes in of what heals me. Working with plant medicine, working with color, and putting myself into these environments brings me a sense of healing and care.