gilf! (Ann Lewis) (NYC, Detroit) “Never Turn Your Back on the Ocean”, Historic Steam Plant Building, 2015, Asbury Park, NJ
“Never turn your back on the Ocean is a 50′ mural situated in the windows of the inactive power plant of Asbury Park, NJ. Long before the days of our hyper consumer culture, and the onslaught of bigger, better, faster this building and its details, constructed in the 1920s, reflect a more thoughtful and humble moment in our history. Now, as humanity plows through space and time we leave behind us a toxic wake of plastic, especially in our oceans. Consuming plastic bags to the tune of 1 million a minute, the human race and our insolence, is devastating our oceanic ecosystems with tremendous speed. Hidden within the maze of Never turn your back on the Ocean is a call to action to safeguard our seas. As a child I spent many summers with my Aunt Glory on the beaches of the mid-Atlantic. While she has since moved on from this realm, her spirit and guidance honoring our oceans is one that will never leave me. I am grateful to be able to share this legacy with the residents and visitors of Asbury Park.” -gilf! (Ann Lewis)
Based in Brooklyn, gilf! is one of NYC’s most recognized and provocative female street and activist artists. She creates bold public work and gallery work that inspire thoughtfulness, while simultaneously motivating progressive change within communities. Since receiving her bachelor’s degree in Fine Art from the University of Wisconsin Madison, her work has been reviewed in Blouin Art Info, New York Magazine, New York Daily News, Brooklyn Street Art, Gothamist, and Wooster Collective. She has exhibited in solo and group shows throughout the US and abroad including shows at Jim Kempner Fine Art in New York, Seyhoun Gallery in Tehran, Iran, and Known Gallery in Los Angeles. Through her participatory performance events, murals, uncommissioned street work, gallery installations, and curatorial projects she continues her dialog of mindful and constructive evolution.
