Kota Ezawa, Hands Across

2939 Telegraph Avenue Apartments, Oakland, CA, 2018

Hands Across is a mural size tile-mosaic depicting a diverse group of citizens forming a line by holding hands. This type of demonstration came to prominence during a public campaign known as "Hands Across America" in 1986 in which millions of citizens joined hands to fight hunger and homelessness in the USA. Since then the forming of a human chain has been employed frequently to raise awareness for a number of causes. The mural pays respect to the diverse communities of Oakland and the Telegraph Ave area specifically and to Oakland's long history of community organizing. The image is not based on any actual event. Instead it points to the general idea of solidarity among people.