Cactus

“Cactus,” by Los Angeles based artist Christian Moeller is an expansive horizontal mural on the façade of the newly expanded Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center. Serving as an “architectural frieze,” the mural depicts an endless field of native cacti along the upper section of the building’s east façade. The frieze is 913 feet in length and 13 feet tall and is made of galvanized metal chain-link fencing dappled with over 100,000 white vinyl dots. The green background contrasts with the white vinyl dots to create a half-tone pattern that forms the image. The artist’s inspiration came from his interest in plant-inspired motifs commonly used as decorative elements in architecture. As the “official plant of Texas,” the Prickly Pear Cactus symbolizes the resilient and bountiful landscapes of the state, while serving as a reminder of how efficiently nature adapts to change.