St. Pete artist uses technology to turn murals into interactive experience

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - A St. Petersburg artist is using an app to help explain the meaning of his masterpieces.   

Jabari Reed-Diop says what makes his artwork unique is the spiritual and personal experiences he paints onto canvas.

"I would say like a mixture between spirituality and cartoons is just bridging those two gaps together," Reed-Diop explained. "It was trying to like put onto canvas. Like, what does it feel like to have like an internal battle with like your internal good and your internal negative and the crossing point of that." 

The 22-year-old’s art is growing in popularity. He has an art exhibition called "Zebra" at D Gallerie in St. Petersburg this month. 

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"We see there's so much talent in his artwork, IBOMs work," stated Alejandro Quintero, Owner of D Gallerie. "It's not only about just esthetically, how captivating they are, but it's also about how much depth and meaning there is behind each one of his works." 

To help visitors understand his work, Reed-Diop incorporated an app called Pixel Stix. It's technology that turns murals into an interactive experience. 

"We use it as a way to convey the story of the art. Inside of the art itself," said Matthew Walkler, founder of PixelStix. "So people who visit the art can access what the meaning is behind the person that made it." For Reed-Diop, the piece that has the most meaning to him is called "Fire Force." 

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"That one's actually a big inspiration for to showcase itself, to just seeing how flames manifest to the surface for different people," he said. 

Jabari Reed-Diop's piece that has the most meaning to him is called "Fire Force." 

Reed-Diop gets his inspiration from his personal experiences.  

"Like it might just be that day that I went through something and it, it gives me a different look for a piece or a different feeling. And I just figured out the best way to portray it," he shared. 

A feeling that is bringing him big success. 

LINK: Learn more about Reed-Diop and D Gallerie here.