No less than five white dudes wearing dreadlocks were counted at the Philadelphia new years party where these paintings were photographed. The artist works with stencils, spray paint, glass, and mirrors sometimes. He explained that “the only way for me to sell those old mirrors was to put someone like Ol’ Dirty Bastard on them.” A pigeon wearing a flavor flav clock adorned another piece of glass. Indeed a portrait of Bob Marley himself adorned a wall in the bathroom — made also out of painted shards of mirrored glass.

For many at the party, the new year was brought in, quite literally, by reflecting on the images of hip-hop and the self. Bubbles and revelry soon replaced all the heady stuff. They always do.