Chicago's latest mural is here, but you'll have to look up to see it — 24 stories — to be exact.
"This piece is part of a series of ecosystem restoration murals we're doing around the world with the United Nations Environment Programme," said Audrey Becker, co-founder of environmental nonprofit Street Art for Mankind.
The mural, titled "Stand Tall," is located near Michigan Avenue and Lake Street, on the north side of the Prudential Building.
It's the work of Dutch artist Mr. Super A and mixes fantasy with reality, Becker said.
"He has this very signature style where he mixes comics characters, and then you have those ribbons, and inside you have a real person," she said.
In "Stand Tall," Mr. Super A combined an animated woman and deer with real-looking versions of the two. Becker said it's a call to action to show up for our environment.
"It features a woman, an empowered woman, and she's touching a deer. And this deer is actually the symbol of Illinois," she said. "She's looking at us, and she's kind of questioning us on what do we do for our planet and for our communities."
She said the mural also honors Chicago's legacy as the birthplace of the environmental justice movement and, specifically, the work of Hazel Johnson, who was an environmental activist on the South Side.
"We really hope it's going to inspire a lot of people as they walk by Michigan Avenue to really take action for their community and for our planet and to be aware that it is is we, the people, that can make a difference in our society."
The mural had an official unveiling on Saturday, May 31. Becker said it was unveiled just in time for World Environment Day on Thursday, June 5.
