Outshine by street artist Joseph Perez, who goes by the name Sentrock, is located on

the corner of West Hadley St. and South Montezuma St. This mural was painted on the wall of an
apartment complex which is confined in a rocky parking lot. Though Sentrock beautifully, uses
color to convey the message of the mural, what ultimately stands out is the symbolisms. In short,
Sentrock uses the combination of colors and symbols to create a feeling of self-reflection
whenever the viewer stares at the mural.
At first glance, it is hard to unravel the main object of this image. But once the eyes
settle, a model of a person in a praying position covering its masked face is visible. Though the
colors are what make it somewhat difficult to decipher the person, it does not take away from the
mural. On the contrary, the colors serve to complement the painting. The two main colors that
dominate this mural are pink and blue. The pale pink on the arms may imply universality. This
theory can be seen as the color can be correlated to skinless flesh, thus by Sentrock coloring the
skin pink, he is showing that this person can be anyone. It is not black, brown, white, or yellow;
it is the universal color of flesh. Moreover, the blue surrounding the object is anything but bright.
This idea of being surrounded in blue is like being surrounded by the ocean. Other colors seen in
this mural are black from the clouds, the spider web, and the spider; Red from the bird and the
mask; and yellow from the tattoos, words, and sun.
Much of what is used in rhetoric is pathos. A lot of self-reflection can be seen within this
mural. The positioning of the model cements this theory as the praying position makes it seem as
it is reflecting on itself. The hand covering its face may indicate sadness and insecurity; it does
not want its face exposed. Furthermore, the object seems to be resting its arms on a barbed wire
wall. In rhetoric terms this can also represent pathos as it may symbolize being trapped behind a
wall. The tattoos on each arm showcase the two main emotions of humans: sadness and
happiness. The mask that is disguising the individual is in a form of the bird. In latent terms,
birds represent freedom through flight. The ability to fly anywhere you want showcases
escapism. As such, the bird mask that is covering the individual means that it wants to believe
that he can fly, but the suffocating surroundings around are preventing him. Lastly, the only
words in this mural, apart from the artists signature, are the word “Out Shine” and “On Us”. The
words “Out Shine” are located on the top left corner of the individual’s shoulder. It wants to
outshine, but it believes it can not because of all the negativity around it. Nonetheless, the artist
inclusion of the words “On Us” on the individual’s arm seems to be indicative of the belief that it
is on us to out shine. Pathos, therefore, plays a significant role in this mural as it conveys human
emotions and self-reflection.
The setting of this mural is somewhat fitting. Located on a neighborhood many may
deem as the “ghetto” helps to showcase the concept of struggle. As the artist conveys, it is on us
to out shine and therefore it is on us to make it out of whatever situation we are in. The mural
was completed in 2017 by Joseph Perez, Sentrock. An artist with a heavy influence from the
Chicago art scene, Sentrock is a firm believer of being free. In an interview, he once stated, “The
ability to fly away is something I always use my art to do, get away or escape. I think a big part
of it started from how I grew up, seeing family members and friends locked up throughout my
childhood always inspired me to stay free” (Aztlancollective 2017). Moreover, the location of
this mural is in a mostly centered Chicano neighborhood. In another interview, Sentrock
describes how he draws from Mexican influences when depicting masked individuals (Heining
2018). Lastly, the concept of escapism is further cemented as Sentrock, in yet another interview
states about another mural with the same bird mask, “The young girl has a bird mask on, a
symbol for wanting to find your own wings and fly away to be able to see more.” (Montoya
2018).
Though Sentrock deals with many messages, such as escapism, the overarching feeling of
this mural is self-reflection. Colors, symbols, and rhetorical elements help convey the feeling of
self-reflection as an individual who looks at the mural may see themselves as the individual.
They may reflect on the time when they too felt trapped behind a wall or a mask. We have all had
moments of doubt. The feeling of being surrounded by an ocean of depression. Though we put
on a mask to portray the image of what we really want to be, it is ultimately on us to out shine
from any negative situation we find ourselves in.