Natalia Virafuentes painted her “Octopus Alebrije” in Albany Park because, she says, she finally found the wall for it.
The Chicago artist was living in the neighborhood after returning from Mexico where she was painting alebrijes, fantastical and brightly colored Mexican spirit animals.
She hadn’t found a home for her octopus until the North River Commission’s Albany Park Chamber of Commerce invited her to paint a wall that was often getting tagged at North Kimball and West Montrose avenues.
“I wanted to bring something pretty and mystical to that area,” says Virafuentes, who now lives in Uptown.
Themes of her art typically revolve around interconnectedness, spirituality and her Mexican culture, displayed through symbolism, imagery and repetition, she says. “The ‘Octopus Alebrije’ mural is in keeping with that.”
Virafuentes sought to create movement with the octopus’ tentacles, like the creature is swimming under water. Its rolling tentacles seem ready to burst out of the murals’ boundaries.
Its aquatic backdrop takes on a cosmic feel with clouds of blues, blacks and purples, and the octopus’ teal body is crosshatched and speckled with red lines and orange spots — in keeping with the brilliant colors and patterns typical of alebrijes, Virafuentes says. Its almost-glowing red eye peers across the street at people waiting for the bus.
“It was inspired by the beauty of an octopus and how smart they are,” Virafuentes says.
“Octopus Alebrije” was a perfect mural for her at the time, she says, because she was pregnant and looking for smaller murals that weren’t high off the ground.
Virafuentes painted the mural in 2022, as the city began to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic. Before the pandemic, Virafuentes worked as a massage therapist. Social distancing requirements meant she couldn’t do her job.
So she followed her artistic passion and pursued painting as a career.
“All I know is how to paint and design, and I’m going to push myself into the murals,” says Virafuentes, a graduate of Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design.
“I’ve painted all my life. When I was little I would do murals with my classes. In after-school programming, I’d always try to sign up for the murals.”
She achieved her goal, and has painted murals professionally since 2020. She also works as artistic coordinator for Communities United, a nonprofit racial justice organization in Chicago.
Eve Miller, community development specialist for North River Commission, says the mural fits in with the Albany Park Chamber of Commerce’s goal of commissioning art that is representative of and meaningful to the community. This one was paid for with a 33rd Ward microgrant.
“In Albany Park, public art is a reflection of the neighborhood’s vibrant and diverse community,” Miller says. “From murals to installations, each piece tells a story that honors the unique cultures, histories and experiences of our residents.”