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Artist Behind Atlanta BeltLine's Baby Yoda Mural Already Has A Legacy Of Art In City
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Chris Veal recently made news headlines for his Atlanta BeltLine mural of Baby Yoda, a character from the new Star Wars series The Mandalorian.
But his work is no stranger to the city.
Veal said he painted the Baby Yoda for fun because he's a fan of the show.
“It was nice to have something new with Star Wars that I could enjoy again," he said. "Plus, I really love painting stuff from pop culture.”
He and his friend Nels collaborated after they figured out they had the same idea for a mural. The friends realized they had both purchased green paint already.
“Yeah, it kind of just happened by coincidence,” Veal said.
However, Veal’s mark across the city extends far beyond his painting of the Star Wars character. Chris has been known for making subversive commentary though his murals for years now, and has even been contracted by several businesses to bring his unique voice to the sides of their buildings.
“There’s a lot of social commentary in my work,” he said. “A lot of my pieces do have a statement behind them. It's a good way to get out of my box and come out with how I feel about certain things.”
Veal has lived in the Old Fourth Ward since 1999, and witnessed the area's changes. Some of Veal’s art touches on the city’s changing landscape and the disparity in income among its residents.
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“For a venue like The Masquerade or other places in the area to be forced out or forced to move or whatever happened, that’s when things kind of bother me,” Veal said.
He's also painted murals in cities around the state, such as Macon, where he painted Little Richard.
Veal said the real goal of his art is for people to take away what they want from it.
“As long as it resonates with them and they gain something out of it, then that's pretty much all I would hope to achieve; whether it gets people to think or to just simply enjoy it.”
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