Only You

“Only You” - EL MAC painted this mural in Wuppertal, Germany this summer. The image is based on a photo from legendary German dancer + choreographer Pina Bausch in the mid-1990s, when she was visiting the US Southwest to collaborate with universities in California, Arizona, and Texas to create her dance piece “Nur Du” (Only You). The piece was a kind of portrait of the American West, presumably taking its title from the classic Platters song from the 1950s.

”I love imagining the details behind this: a romantic embrace shared by two unknown dancers in the Southwest, as seen through the eyes of another dancer visiting from Germany… and then nearly thirty years later, her record of this brief moment of public intimacy being interpreted into a mural by a painter from the US Southwest on a wall in Pina’s German hometown…
Foreign and familiar, particular and universal, a fleeting moment of connection rendered with spraypaint on a wall in a neighborhood largely populated by immigrants, shawarma spots and Halal markets at the end of the Schwebebahn suspended train line…

There’s so much anxiety, fear, and violence in our world these days, these have been distressing times for many. It’s also been challenging trying to navigate parenthood and an art career through turbulence, uncertainty, and loss. Grateful for every blessing + opportunity to share my art, including being able to do this mural, and that my wife and son could share the experience with me💙” - EL MAC