Rhode Island artists BIG NAZO and PFunk teamed up to create the Graffiti Mural Trolls installation as part of a multi-artist series in the Cultural Corridor between Classical and Central High School. BIG NAZO is an artist collective interested in creating wearable sculpture based on the designs of founding member Erminio Pinque. Similarly, muralist PFunk (aka Paul Morse) creates unique characters that pop out from his art in vibrant technicolor. This was the first time the artists met and collaborated on Graffiti Mural Trolls, where PFunk’s signature character features such as big chins were brought to life in the foam rubber puppets of BIG NAZO. PFunk provided the paint for the puppets and their backdrop: a mural of five original characters. The puppets and mural were integrated into the ”Rock the Block” event at the high school with the finished BIG NAZO characters standing in front of the mural as moving elements.

Significantly, PFunk who also works in the Providence community and mentors youth, painted late at night. Young and emerging artists stayed out with him, sketching and talking about their work transforming the otherwise dark and sometimes derelict space into a hub of positive artistic exchange.