New Brooklyn Subway Mural Adds a Touch of Whimsy to Commuting
Ruby Onyinyechi Amanze’s mosaic “May Your Road Be Light and Fun” at Borough Hall excerpts drawings from over 10 years of the artist’s practice.
The mad dash between subway lines in Brooklyn’s Borough Hall subway station has just gotten a little more colorful. In the corridor connecting the 2, 3, 4, and 5 subway lines, Ruby Onyinyechi Amanze’s mosaic “May Your Road Be Light and Fun” (2026) will now envelop passersby across a 110-foot leg of their journey.
MTA Arts & Design announced the new installation on May 28, as a joint project between Amanze and Miotto Mosaic Art Studios, a workshop based 50 miles north of New York City. In an array of glazed and matte ceramic pieces, Amanze’s drawings are brought from the paper to tiled underground walls.
There is no singular subject to “May Your Road Be Light and Fun.” Instead, the mosaic plucks excerpts from around 50 of Amanze’s drawings, dating back to 2012. Part mosaic, part collage, the artwork captures seven of the artist’s most beloved motifs: swimming, aliens, birds, bikes, architecture, leopard-headed humans, and the medium of paper itself. Set against a white backdrop that mimics a blank sheet of parchment, these motifs emerge in colorful patchwork smatterings of algae green, ocean blue, grays, and fuchsia.
Many of the figures throughout the piece reference various physical activities, such as diving or lunging. Born in Nigeria and straddling England and the United States for much of her artistic career, Amanze is familiar with much larger themes of movement. During the 10 years she lived in New York City, she noticed how the public transit system facilitated countless relocations on a smaller and more frequent scale, with commuters and tourists hustling between subway lines at all hours.
“The title comes from that combination of referencing movement, journeying, magic, surprise, and delight,” the artist told Hyperallergic in a phone interview For Amanze, the mosaic offers a fun parallel for city folk who are always on the move.
Although the work is the product of 14 years worth of drawings, “May Your Road Be Light and Fun” marks Amanze’s first public exhibition. “I never saw an opportunity for my artwork to translate into a public sphere, because I work on paper,” she said. Then, she met Stephen Miotto, the eponymous owner of Miotto Mosaic Art Studios and the craftsman behind many of the mosaics that have graced the city’s subway stations for the past four decades. Over years of collaboration, the two artists managed to create a mosaic translation of Amanze’s one-dimensional drawings.
In a phone call with Hyperallergic, Miotto expressed his hope that the mosaic would positively affect passersby. “Maybe this piece will change someone’s day,” he said. “I feel really lucky to be involved in it.”
Amanze agreed with Miotto’s sentiment: “In my drawings, my characters are happy and content, while doing mundane things. There’s a levity to that.”
