“I was approached by Katerina Stathopoulou, adjunct curator of the fund, to make a body of work. I have always been a fan of public art installations, since they are the best way to engage the public that might not necessarily visit galleries or museums—in a sense, bringing the art to the people.”

Muluneh has spent years creating surrealist photographs of stately African women bearing symbols that reckon with conflict, history and power. Painted eye motifs — as well as her subjects' unflinching gaze — represent the need to bear witness, chairs represent seats of influence, and curtains pull back to show the stagecraft of politics.

“It was a way for her to learn and study these objects in a more tactile way,” said Public Art Fund associate curator Katerina Stathopoulou, who curated the show. “She was almost retracing the hands of the artists who painted these parfleches hundreds of years ago.”

Symmetrical geometric designs in red, yellow, green, blue, and white could be found covering bus shelters across New York, Chicago, and Boston last summer and fall. The images were created by the artist for the , as part of a series entitled “Travels Pretty.”