One of Charlotte’s biggest murals can only be seen a certain way: from above

Many big cultural projects got canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But for artist Alex Duncan, it turned out to be the perfect moment to supersize his work.

Duncan, who goes by “DUNC” recently completed one of Charlotte’s largest murals. It stretches along the rooftops of three bars — Prohibition, The Local and Connolly’s — on 5th Street in uptown Charlotte.

Unlike most murals, it can’t be seen from the street. Instead, the bold collage design is only visible from above.

Workers in nearby skyscrapers can gaze down upon it. The best view, however, comes from next door at the new 5-story Binaco Tower: home to a rooftop bar, Novelty House Rooftop; an upscale cigar lounge, Havana Smoke & Reserve Social Club; and the soon to open Saku Yakitori & Sushi Bar.

Binaco Real Estate, which owns the tower as well as the adjoining properties, commissioned the large-scale artwork.

So just how big is the work that’s been dubbed “Charlotte’s Massive Masterpiece?” If it were turned on its side, the 5,360-square-foot mural would cover the facade of a 40-foot wide, 10-story building.

That would be an ambitious undertaking for any artist but especially for one who only started painting three years ago.

Luckily, the 26-year-old Duncan isn’t afraid to tackle new challenges; it’s just that he’s had more practice tackling them on the football field.

Football star turned artist

Growing up, in Chapel Hill, Duncan knew he could draw, but never thought of himself as an artist.

Football was his passion and he put all his energy into that. He was a two-time All American selection in high school, played for Navy his first year of college, and later transferred to UNC Charlotte on a full scholarship to play defensive back for the 49ers.

Then a torn ACL sidelined him his junior year, and it led him to embrace a talent he hadn’t explored before: he started making art as a way to cope.

“I think I was always very creative but didn’t realize it,” Duncan said.

Part of the challenge was opening himself up to something that had always been there, but he had pushed away. Now he had the time and he was ready to explore.

He enrolled in art courses at UNC Charlotte and received encouragement from his professors, who told him he was a better artist than he realized and could do more if he put time into it.

That was life-changing.

“Whenever I commit to something, I kind of just go full force into it,” Duncan said. “I don’t really tiptoe into anything.”

Overcoming challenges

That drive and focus were exactly what appealed to Vijay Bhojwani, president of Binaco Real Estate, when he reached out to Duncan with the mural project.

Duncan had already completed work for several of the company’s clients, and Bhojwani had been impressed by his “pure talent” and humility.

Duncan had never painted anything so big nor worked on a flat surface like a roof before. He researched best practices but found little information, so he learned on the job.

“I like to challenge myself, and then not know how I’m going to do it and then do it,” Duncan said.

That attitude came in handy, as he was confronted by a variety of unexpected obstacles.

First, there was the timing. Bhojwani pitched the mural project to Duncan in March 2020, right before COVID-19 hit the city. It threw everything into uncertainty: Construction stalled on the Binaco Tower, and plans for starting the mural were pushed back.

He finally began painting in November, and quickly learned how weather would dictate his ability to make progress.

Lower temperatures prevented the paint from drying. So did rain — which affected both the days preceding and following a storm. If the paint wasn’t dry before a rainfall, the work was wasted. After storms, he had to sweep away puddles that formed on the flat surface.

As work continued into the spring and summer, he learned even sunny days could be treacherous.

“Being up there two hours when it’s 90 degrees outside is like eight hours,” he said.

But the hardest part was keeping perspective on his work. He used a 2-foot-by-2-foot grid to help him transfer his design to the roof. As he sketched, he would frequently pause, climb down the ladder from the roof then go up in Binaco Tower — still under construction next door — to ensure his work looked right.

The artwork

Before painting, Duncan tinkered with as many as 40 variations and 12 designs before he and Bhojwani landed on the right one, an image meant to convey hope and resilience.

The artwork represents Charlotte during the coronavirus pandemic: pulled apart by outside forces but still connected and symbolically bound as one. In large letters, the mural reads, “We are Together.”

For Duncan, the messages behind his artwork are essential. Anyone can master the technical skills to create a painting, he said. “But can you make work that sends a message? Can you make work that evokes emotion that is positive towards the viewer?”

Including a positive message was a priority for Bhojwani too.

“We wanted to do something that would give back to the city,” said Bhojwani, who now sits at the helm of the family-owned business his father, Gobind Bhojwani, started 44 years ago.

His parents, Indian immigrants, were in the wholesale clothing business in New York before they moved to Charlotte to open up their own retail clothing shops and later transitioned into real estate.

“I literally was raised on 5th and Tryon my whole life,” Bhojwani said. In the mural, look for the initials “GB,” a tribute to his father, who passed away in January 2020.

“We’d love for the city to know how much we appreciate, as a company, as a family... what the city has done for us,” he said. “And now we want to bring new concepts back to the city for them to enjoy.”

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This story was originally published October 12, 2021 at 6:35 AM.