Mural, acrylic paint on non-woven fabric, 29.3 × 3.25 m Ephrata, Pennsylvania, USA, 2009 Commissioned by Pennsylvania Horticultural Society; designed by Bassem Yousri; executed with the Ephrata community
Shortly after completing my MFA, I was selected to develop and execute this mural as part of a Pennsylvania-wide public beautification initiative — a ten-week project in the small town of Ephrata.
I began with research: visits to the Ephrata Historical Society, archival study, and an immersion in the town’s social fabric, which layers Mennonite and Amish heritage with a broader, diverse community. A key discovery shaped the work: the designated wall — on what is now Ephrata’s downtown administrative building — was once the town’s main train station. A historic caboose still stands opposite the site as a remnant of that past. This led me to the current train station, where I photographed locals waiting on the platform — ordinary people, an ordinary moment.
The resulting composition weaves together the present and the past: contemporary scenes drawn from my own photographs alongside archival imagery borrowed from the Historical Society, producing a single image that holds both layers at once. The mural was executed with the participation of members of the local community.
Though this project may seem distant from the rest of my practice, it follows the same thread: taking the banal as a starting point and relating it to a larger historical context.
Waiting for the Reading and Columbia Train – 2009Waiting for the Reading and Columbia Train – 2009Waiting for the Reading and Columbia Train – 2009Waiting for the Reading and Columbia Train – 2009Waiting for the Reading and Columbia Train – 2009Almost ready to be pasted onto the walls.Applying the glue.Applying the glue.Preparing to put the first tile of fabric in place.Starting to look more like a mural!Waiting for the Reading and Columbia Train – 2009Waiting for the Reading and Columbia Train – 2009Waiting for the Reading and Columbia Train – 2009Waiting for the Reading and Columbia Train – 2009Waiting for the Reading and Columbia Train – 2009Waiting for the Reading and Columbia Train – 2009Almost done.Waiting for the Reading and Columbia Train – 2009Design on paper.The finished mural.Waiting for the Reading and Columbia Train – 2009An archival photo of the same site which used to be a train station. It was functional between 1856 and the 1950s.Waiting for the Reading and Columbia Train – 2009Waiting for the Reading and Columbia Train – 2009Waiting for the Reading and Columbia Train – 2009Waiting for the Reading and Columbia Train – 2009Waiting for the Reading and Columbia Train – 2009Waiting for the Reading and Columbia Train – 2009Waiting for the Reading and Columbia Train – 2009Waiting for the Reading and Columbia Train – 2009Waiting for the Reading and Columbia Train – 2009Waiting for the Reading and Columbia Train – 2009Waiting for the Reading and Columbia Train – 2009Waiting for the Reading and Columbia Train – 2009Waiting for the Reading and Columbia Train – 2009Waiting for the Reading and Columbia Train – 2009Waiting for the Reading and Columbia Train – 2009Waiting for the Reading and Columbia Train – 2009Waiting for the Reading and Columbia Train – 2009Waiting for the Reading and Columbia Train – 2009Waiting for the Reading and Columbia Train – 2009Waiting for the Reading and Columbia Train – 2009Waiting for the Reading and Columbia Train – 2009Waiting for the Reading and Columbia Train – 2009Waiting for the Reading and Columbia Train – 2009Waiting for the Reading and Columbia Train – 2009Waiting for the Reading and Columbia Train – 2009Waiting for the Reading and Columbia Train – 2009Waiting for the Reading and Columbia Train – 2009Waiting for the Reading and Columbia Train – 2009Waiting for the Reading and Columbia Train – 2009
Bassem Yousri 