The Tenement Visual Artist (TVA), the group that honored the NBA legend Kobe Bryant and his daughter Giana “Gigi” through a mural on the Tenement basketball court in Taguig City after their tragic death in 2020, created another large painting on the same court to commemorate their first year death anniversary.
Headed by artist Jerry Lalaniguez Gabo, Lenard Galaites, Adrian Piñon, John Bugtong, Kris Paccial, Ariel Piñon Jr., Reynaldo Ramos, Oliver Galaites, Mike Walk, Darwin Domingo, Ernel Llanes, Siegfred Gamboa, and Johnre Gabo, TVA unveiled the mural in acrylic paint which measures 14x14 meters yesterday.
It is open to the public starting today until 10 p.m., but health protocols must be strictly observed.
The mural features three portraits of the father and daughter, from which two are black and white, and the largest is colored. In cooperation with Nippon Paint Coatings Philippines, TVA dedicates the mural to Bryant’s family, friends, and fans.
In Los Angeles, the city Kobe represented at the NBA, street artist Tehrell Porter also painted a mural for Kobe’s family and friends. In his creation, he incorporated people that are close to the LA Lakers star like his extended family and his NBA family. He calls the artwork Mamba business.
According to Porter, he saw a butterfly on his airbrush a month ago, where he drew a connection and inspiration after seeing Kobe’s butterfly tattoo on a magazine. “The thing that’s keeping me up and working on this mural is basically inspiration and the love for arts, and the love of Kobe Bryant’s teachings and learnings," Porter said in an interview with AFP.
Ladie One, another visual artist in LA who happened to be a huge fan of the Black Mamba, got an offer to do a mural. She said that she was super excited and passionate to do the three portraits of Kobe in basketball action. Painting Kobe tremendously developed her as an artist.
“There was a lot of pressure because I mean, it’s Kobe, we’re in LA, and I wanted to do him justice. I wanted him to be absolutely the best and so I’ve really been giving him my all,” One tells the AFP.
Kobe died with her daughter and seven other people in a helicopter crash in Calabasa, California a year ago. Their unexpected passing caused an outpouring of grief worldwide, with artists from around the world sharing an art or two to honor Kobe’s greatness.