MEANDERINGS THROUGH MIAMI March 26 2018

Miami is warm in February. An eternal summer has pervaded its residents, who embody a relaxed friendliness that only dwellers of the tropics can seem to uphold. Cab drivers converse, baristas crack jokes, strangers make friends in clubs.

Jovial happy hour pedlars line the hotel bars of Ocean Drive. Tourists repose amongst them, nursing giant pina coladas adorned with miniature parasols. An upwards-cast gaze will find itself entranced by the geometric Art Deco facades, awash with hues reminiscent of the sinfully sweet treats synonymous with seaside walks; ice-creams, sticks of rock and cotton candy.

As day makes way for dusk, the pastel effulgence quietens, allowing a resplendent army of neon signs to come to life. Crescent, Netherland, The Tides, Fairwind, Colony, Majestic. Hotel names, that when spoken aloud invoke a longing for a past that doesn’t belong to us. A parade of nostalgia, penetrative in its illumination.

The streets of Wynwood are lined with uniform low-rise buildings of box-like form. Their simplicity acts as a canvas for artists to paint their surfaces with colourful stories, so vibrant they compete with the blinding blue of the skies. One could get lost in these walls and their stories...



SOUTH BEACH

WYNWOOD