project overview

Subterranean River | I-40 Underpass at N. Main St.

UAC, in partnership with the City of Memphis and Downtown Memphis Commission, worked to develop a mural and lighting project at the I-40 and N. Main St. underpass in downtown Memphis. North Main St. is home to the historic Pinch District, which took its name in the 1800s from a pejorative term for the emaciated Irish immigrants fleeing the potato famine (“pinch gut”). The Pinch was home to the city’s earliest Irish, Italian, Russian, and Greek immigrants, as well as Memphis’ Jewish community through the 1930s. Suburban expansion post-World War II led to a decline in the Pinch’s population, however recent developments have led to a recurrence of growth and opportunity. Historic restaurants, like Black and woman-owned restaurant Alcenia’s, have managed to hold strong in the area.

The artist, Memphis-based muralist and graphic designer Kong Wee Pang, was selected from a group of five finalists invited to make site-specific proposals for the project. Her large-scale sequin mural references the movement of the nearby Mississippi River and its role as an important historic conduit for trade in the area, which is also reflected currently by the interstate over the project site. Her concept was also inspired by the flow of the Mississippi River and water movements as a way to guide pedestrians along the underpass and coax them into exploring the northern areas of Downtown.

about the artist

KONG WEE PANG

Kong Wee Pang moved to the United States in 2001 from multi-cultural Malaysia & Singapore. She graduated from the Singapore Nanyang Academy of Fine Art. In 2001, she moved to the United States, where she received a degree in Fine Art and design and an MFA from the Memphis College of Art. In 2016, she co-founded Taropop Studio, focusing on public art and award-winning branding. Kong Wee is known for her public art, creative design work, and fine art. She has shown her work in New York, California, Spain, Italy, Germany, Singapore, and Malaysia.