Project Overview
This Is My Song | District 6 Mural | Pine Hill Community Center
“Whether he is putting on the headphones to tune out all of these thoughts or taking the headphones off to embrace the world around him—this is his song.”
Memphis artists Kyle Taylor and Chad M. Irwin created This Is My Song, the District 6 mural at the Pine Hill Community Center. The title is intended to capture the sentiments of the neighborhood surrounding the Community Center and represent what the center aspires to be. The central figure's eyes are closed. His face is calm, down-turned, and slightly illuminated. He has his hands placed on a pair of headphones. Beginning on the left, a group of figures struggles to capture the ribbon of a diploma that is emerging through the clouds. This symbol is intended to represent the eternal struggle and pursuit of education. Balancing this image on the far right is a depiction of an older African American woman smiling, content with a life well-lived, and looking to the future. Beside her, a woman kissing her newborn appears among the shifting surfaces and clouds surrounding the person in the middle. Whether he is putting on the headphones to tune out all of the thoughts or taking the headphones off to embrace the world around him—this is his song.
About the Artists
Kyle Taylor
Kyle Taylor is a multi-disciplinary artist from Memphis, TN. The Pacific Northwest and Midwest are second and third homes for inspiration. It was there that his passion was able to be funneled into design trades. Since 2009, he has worked in healthcare marketing, the prosthetics industry, cd/dvd manufacturing, and web design for numerous national membership organizations. These various fields have helped inform his personal and public artwork. In September 2010, he returned to Memphis to marry his best friend and creative partner, Cynthia Cogbill.
Chad M. Irwin
Mixed media artist and Pennsylvania transplant to Memphis, TN, Chad M. Irwin doesn’t confine himself necessarily to any one medium. His imaginative use of found objects and materials is consistent throughout most of his work. Chad occasionally leads workshops and lectures, pulling from his own experience and process, while stressing the significance of recycled art’s environmental footprint. Chad has directed and helped develop community art projects, such as a children’s mosaic for The 2010 Memphis Children’s Theatre Festival, and has designed sets and costumes for both film and theater.
