Raleigh, NC’s Taylor White melds figurative subject matter and tech with her A2AC Murals piece on Clinc Inc.‘s building on Washington and First in Downtown Ann Arbor’s Creative District.

And who better to talk about it than the artist? From Taylor: “The mural considers the relationship between humanity and technology as we move into a future where these elements are inherently interwoven. The hands delicately and hopefully explore the relationship with the digital space, while points of tension are created visually as the horizontal shapes cut through the composition.

While the tools that have developed over the last ten years have created unprecedented breakthroughs in our ability to connect, socialize and share information across continents, some believe that social media and the tech leviathans who created it pose an existential threat to civilization. There are evidence-based arguments that social media platforms dehumanize their users, disrupt the social fabric, and collapse our shared understanding of reality. Documentaries like ‘The Social Dilemma’ reveal that the technology utilized by social media is manipulative by design, using our own psychology against us in service of its own interests.

So, what do we do with what we know? Technology is here to stay, but that doesn’t mean we are helpless to its advances. We have a choice to hold ourselves and the tech companies accountable for how we use the tools at our disposal.”

A huge thank you to everyone that supported the A2AC Murals crowdfunding campaign to fill downtown with murals! A special thanks to Clinc Inc. and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation for understanding the importance of accessible visual art and making Taylor’s mural come to life!