Crumbling As We Climb

Aaron Li-Hill

Canadian visual artist, Aaron Li-Hill was chosen to paint a mural for the Long Beach Walls (FKA POW! WOW! Long Beach) 2016 Street art festival. Li-Hill’s stark black and white mural is divided between man and animal. ‘Crumbling as we Climb’ depicts what may happen when man takes advantage of the world’s precious resources by hunting and exploiting the natural world. Depicted is a battle between an aggressive hunter and a fierce bear. The powerful image is simultaneously beautiful and ominous. The figures are somewhere in between realms as their every motion is tracked like a fading sequence animation. The dynamic sequence effect provides a sense of movement in the still image. Li-Hill’s work is known for exploring themes of industrialization, man vs nature and various cultures and traditions.