"Hope" Mural by David Hale

During the Covid pandemic, acclaimed tattoo artist and muralist David Hale replaced his lovely "Birdsong" mural with a new piece, entitled "Hope." The mural was installed in October 2020 and is located on the side of the retail store Epiphany and Rook & Pawn, at the corner of Washington St. and Pulaski.

"Hope" definitely is an artist's statement of the times, and is Hale's message of hope in the midst of so much turmoil and challenges in our world right now. “Hope” portrays 24 swallows carrying branches toward the 25th swallow marked “HOPE” and its golden nest.

Hale told UGA student newspaper, The Red & Black, that he chose swallows because swallows represent the first sign of hope to sailors at sea that they are nearing land and home.

“What I learned [from painting the mural] was that it’s important to acknowledge that the swallows are a symbol of hope,” Hale said. “In that kind of narrative of the sailor at sea, what hope truly is the sailor bringing his eyes up from the horizon and seeing that there's a potential of a swallow being in the sky. The swallow itself is an acknowledgement that if we remain hopeful, we will receive hope.”