Black City 

Julie Mehretu's "Black City" presents a chaotic array of lines and shapes suggesting a world in turmoil, rendered with ink and acrylic on canvas. The dominance of black, coupled with the energetic lines, evokes a sense of destruction. Consider these lines—they are not merely abstract forms, but descendants of cave paintings, hieroglyphs, and even maps of ancient cities. Like the frantic scribbles of a child’s drawing, or a seismograph recording an earthquake, these marks capture a moment of intense upheaval. We find an echo of these symbols in Picasso’s "Guernica," where fragmented forms express the horrors of war. Such a vortex of marks also stirs within us the primal fear of collapse and annihilation, engaging our subconscious awareness of mortality and impermanence. This piece reminds us that throughout history, destruction is a constant threat, and cities, empires, and entire civilizations can crumble into dust, leaving behind only traces of their existence. Just as the phoenix rises from ashes, so too do symbols and ideas resurface, reborn in new contexts.