Escif Brightens Up a Sad Baltimore Neighborhood With a Huge Smiley Face Mural

For the Open Walls Baltimore project, Escif painted a smiley face as a tongue-in-cheek comment on the condition of the neighborhood.

April 25, 2014

Not Available Lead — Image via Complex Original
Complex Original

For Open Walls Baltimore, street artist Escif was given a 80-foot wall to paint in a neighborhood with lots of vacant homes and rundown buildings. To bring some life to the wall (and as a possible comment on gentrification and development), the artist painted a big yellow smiley face with the words "Looks Much Better Now!" The simple mural works well with the texture of the wall and kind of resembles a big Lego piece, which could definitely be a reference to urban development, though we don't know if that was intentional.

Check out the Open Walls Baltimore Facebook page to see what other artists are putting up.

[via StreetArtNews]