This Bushwick mural will display over 20,000 Donald Trump lies

And, it will host a voter registration drive

September 28, 2020 Editorial Staff

“Wall of Lies” will be on public view on Grattan Street in Bushwick starting at noon on Saturday. Photos courtesy of Radio Free Brooklyn

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It’s no surprise to any astute observer: Bushwick, Brooklyn, isn’t backing Donald Trump in the upcoming presidential election. But Radio Free Brooklyn has taken things a step further.

The independent community radio station is currently assembling “Wall of Lies,” a 50-foot by 10-foot outdoor mural displaying the more than 20,000 lies told so far by Trump while in office.

A live, physically distanced event celebrating the mural’s completion will take place this Sunday, and will include a voter registration drive.

The event will also include a live radio broadcast. From 3-6 p.m., Radio Free Brooklyn will be inviting members of the public to read some of Trump’s most egregious lies on the air.

“The countdown to Election Day is underway and Americans are already beginning to vote across the nation,” said RFB Executive Director Tom Tenney. “In this time where misinformation is rampant, we feel it’s vital to use our voice to call out these untruths in a visually provoking way.”

All included lies come from the database of Trump’s false and misleading statements compiled by The Washington Post, Tenney said.

The original idea for the project was “a radio marathon, 24/7 on-air reading of all of Trump’s lies on Radio Free Brooklyn for a full week before the election,” Tenney added. He credits longtime Bushwick-based photographer Phil Buehler with reinventing the concept as a visual art project.

A mock-up of a small section of the wall.

“Seen from a distance, [the Wall] looks like chaos – perhaps an apt metaphor for this presidency, but when you step closer, you can read the individual lies, which are in chronological order, color-coded by categories like coronavirus, Russia, immigration, the environment and jobs,” said Buehler. “Then when you step back, you can recognize patterns in Trump’s lying.”

The final piece of the project came together when Heather Rush, the owner of Bushwick bar and music venue Pine Box Rock Shop, coordinated with grassroots voting activists Rep Your Block to set up voter registration next to the mural.

“It brings to mind another wall, Trump’s border wall, except this one he’s building to keep out the truth,” said Tenney.

“Wall of Lies” will be on public view on Grattan Street from noon Saturday, Oct. 3rd until 7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 4th.