Bushwick awakens after the storm

Bushwick the night of the hurricane

While Bushwick did not take the bulk of the damage in Hurricane Sandy, the area’s reliance on underground subways into parts of the city that are now without electricity left many artists trapped in Brooklyn. National and international flights, trains and busses were all canceled for days, leaving artists Pixel Pancho and 2501 with some time on their hands.

Pixel Pancho
Pixel Pancho

By way of Martha Cooper’s hospitality and driving skills, the pair made their way through the borough’s paint stores searching for the right colors before landing at Bushwick 5 Points. Enduring the smells emanating from the live poultry establishment on the corner, Pixel Pancho incorporated his style of rusted robots into the building’s gritty razor-wire and concrete exterior.

2501
2501

Meanwhile, 2501 added his geometric forms to the area of Bushwick 5 Points that is slowly housing the abstract work of fellow artists such as See One and Hellbent. Leaving town the following day, the artist put time to the test when creating his latest optical illusion.

2501
See One and Hellbent in Progress

As 2501 wrapped up his wall, See One and Hellbent continued working across the street on their massive collaborative wall. Through slowly building up layers weekend after weekend, the pair near the completion of their largest wall date. With jobs and trains canceled into next week, weeks of bending color and form could come to a close soon.

Photos by Rhiannon Platt