Bound Together

Bound Together is a mural by Tim McFarlane drawing on the rich natural and cultural history of the Callowhill neighborhood. Once referred to as “a green country town,” Callowhill became one of America’s prominent industrial and commercial areas. In the 19th & 20th centuries the neighborhood, named after Hannah Callowhill Penn, William Penn’s second spouse, was crowded with textile mills, factories, grocers, laundry, and machine shops. As a result, this neighborhood became the first stop for thousands of European and Asian immigrants who used their trades from their home countries to make a new life in America.

This mural combines the visual language from its immediate surroundings into elaborate abstractions, creating dialogue at the intersection of history, identity, and contemporary painting practices. Through bold color combinations, this mural focuses on the interconnectedness and movement of people binding the area’s many histories and many cultures.