Hello, my name is BD White, an artist based in New York City who uses a wheelchair due to a spinal injury when I was 18.

This piece portrays the four American Team Citi Para athletes in full action. Although I typically utilize very complex stencil work, I chose to depict the athletes in a loose dry brush painterly style to show their motion, which creates the effect that their movements are so quick that they are almost blurry, yet still in focus. I am known for using repeating text in the background of my pieces to help convey emotions. For this work, I chose the phrase “Sunlight over me no matter what you do,” which is a poetic way of saying “you can't bring me down” and complements Citi's #StareAtGreatness campaign.

From the upper left, the inspirational phrase boldly frames the top of the piece in bright gold stenciled font. The second line of the phrase is broken up by an airborne Scout Bassett. The Para athlete's outstretched arms and legs convey the power of her long jump, and the blade on her right leg is clearly visible from her side profile as she stretches towards her landing.

To the right of Bassett is para triathlete Brad Snyder, intently spotting his entrance as he dives into the water, his tattooed arm reaches down towards the center of the piece. His feet point towards the top left corner of the mural. Both athletes are shrouded in white, highlighting their movements in the foreground.

Directly below Bassett and Snyder and centered in the piece is the hashtag #StareatGreatness in vibrant blue. #StareatGreatness is part of the Citi campaign featuring athletic accomplishments of Para athletes with the aim to change the perceptions of people with disabilities. Directly under the central hashtag, the phrase “Sunlight over me no matter what you do” repeats in a muted gray text on navy blue background speckled with gold.

To the left, Wheelchair Basketball player Trevon Jenifer blocks an opponent's shot. With his right arm extended high above his head, his silhouette encompasses nearly the entire left-hand border of the piece.

To the right, Sitting Volleyball player Nicky Nieves focuses on the ball as she extends her arms to bump the sphere colored with alternating stripes of red, white, and green. Her body leans to her left with her right leg outstretched, pushing her into the bottom right corner.

Although they are all depicted amid movements in their respective sports, when viewed as a whole, the four athletes form a cohesive image, surrounding the #stareatgreatness hashtag. Each athlete is surrounded by a white aura, a technique I used by to highlight their movements against the background of repeating text.