Alise Eastgate is an Oakland-based painter, designer, and muralist. She was born in the late ’80s on an air force base in England. Born to and adopted by interracial, multicultural couples, her identity, like her art, is colorful, layered, and ever-expanding. After a few years in England and then Germany, Alise spent most of her youth growing up in the northwest corner of Louisiana. Seeking balance for her love of art and the natural world, she earned her Bachelor's degree in Studio Art and Geography from the University of Alabama.
Alise’s work explores her experiences, connections to nature, and belief that all living beings deserve the right to live, love, and be free. She has exhibited work in solo and group shows in Oakland and San Francisco and live-painted at events and festivals in California and the Fiji Islands.
'Spirited' is based on the train scene from Hayao Miyazaki's 'Spirited Away.' The scene is an example of 'ma,' a Japanese concept of silence or emptiness that offers a breather from the action; in this case it's used as a bridge to another world- one that used to run both ways but now only runs one way.
The film and this scene in particular deal with transitions, including the transition into the spirit world. In this piece, the character No-Face is represented with a Dogon-inspired mask. These masks are worn in ceremonies that transport the living to the spiritual world of the afterlife. Another transition dealt with in the film is the main character, Chihiro's transition from childhood to adolescence. In this piece, Chihiro is represented as a black girl of the same age wearing signs of youth and growing maturity of a heroine.
