WK Black Palace with the Jonathan LeVine Gallery

Worldwide renowned street artist WK will create a mural installation in Mexico City named Black Palace on the exterior of the Archivo General de la Nación (the General National Archives). The building served as a prison from 1900 to 1976, and was commonly known as the “Black Palace of Lecumberri.”

The monumental mural, which will measure 200 meters wide by almost 7 meters tall, will be inaugurated on November 20, 2010 and will be exhibited until January 20, 2011. The work is inspired by the Mexican Revolution, which this year commemorates its 100th year anniversary. The mural expresses, with WK’s characteristic energy and dynamism, the power-struggle between the federal and the revolutionary armies. “The soldiers in the mural are majestically riding their horses, an element that is very special and present in Mexico’s culture and modern history, from the Spanish conquest to the present day. The horse serves as unifying force and brings movement to the piece,” explains the artist.

The location of the mural at the Archivo General de la Nación is of extreme importance to WK, given the historical relevance of the building. Lecumberri’s jail was built by Porfirio Diaz’s government in 1900 and President Francisco Madero was assassinated there. Additionally, historical figures such as Pancho Villa and the legendary muralist David Alfaro Siqueiros were jailed in Lecumberri. Today the Archivo houses an important part of Mexico’s graphic legacy, and a section of the building will soon be transformed into a museum. This mural will become an important contribution towards this project.

The artist, who will donate the mural to Mexico City, sees his work as homage to Mexico’s great muralist tradition, starting from the exterior decoration of the pre-Hispanic cities, up to the majestic works of the Mexican muralists of the XX century.