Long Island-born artist BKFoxx has completed worked on a “Don’t Tell Me How to Be a Girl,” a striking mural commissioned by Brooklyn non-profit JMZ Walls.
Making use of a photorealistic style, BKFoxx describes the mural as the first of a series of public service announcements. The spray-pained work features a young woman named Ava, who stares with defiance at onlookers as she dons red lipstick.
Foxx explained the meaning on Instagram, writing, “This message is for anybody who tells me how to be what I already am.” She adds the mural was originally commissioned by Rad & Bone, but “I think it fits better with JMZ Walls.”
JMZ Walls is a collaborative of Bushwick Brooklyn artists using street art to beautify their neighborhood and tell compelling stories through art. In a statement, the organization writes, “We believe that the streets have the potential to be a gallery to recount the history and progression of New York and the larger global community.”
Located on the corner of 15 Lawton Street in Brooklyn, enjoy a look at the mural along with a video documenting Foxx’s process below.