{"id":106526,"date":"2025-12-23T16:23:14","date_gmt":"2025-12-23T16:23:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/106526\/"},"modified":"2025-12-23T16:23:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-23T16:23:14","slug":"s-f-s-latest-art-show-covers-the-citys-drains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/106526\/","title":{"rendered":"S.F.\u2019s latest art show covers the city’s drains"},"content":{"rendered":"

In San Francisco, it\u2019s easy to spot public art underfoot, say stencil graffiti on a sidewalk or a mural on a street. But it takes a careful eye to locate the new ground-level art that\u2019s \u2018invading\u2019 neighborhoods\u00a0 on the city\u2019s\u00a0 4 x 4-inch-square drain covers.<\/p>\n

The small artworks are the calling cards of San Francisco artist DraINvader<\/a>, who\u2019s on a mission to cover sewer drain holes with something worth noticing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea is, every piece solves a real problem while adding something beautiful,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

For the past several months, DraINvader has been steadily installing his pieces on city sidewalks. Each customized square plate features a 3-D printed image, such as a butterfly, a Day of the Dead skull or Star Wars\u2019 R2-D2.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The majority of his drain covers are in Alamo Square, Duboce Triangle and the Lower Haight, with several on Divisadero Street and cross streets like Page and Waller.\u00a0<\/p>\n

These\u00a0 neighborhoods are close to where he lives, but are also where he ends up finding a lot of drains in need of covers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am very deliberate in only installing over places where the cover is missing,\u201d he explained. \u201cOccasionally, I\u2019ve attached a cover to the top of an existing one, but I\u2019ll never remove them. That\u2019s part of the ethos of it \u2014 to just be additive.\u201d<\/p>\n

The DraINvader moniker keeps the focus on his art, and it\u2019s also a nod to the French street artist Invader<\/a>, known for his pixelated mosaics. Invader\u2019s \u201cSpace Invader<\/a>\u201d project features installations in cities throughout Europe.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had spent some time in Paris recently and really kind of fell off the wagon exploring and finding a lot of the mosaics that he had installed,\u201d DraINvader said. \u201cI was really excited by just the breadth of things that one can create with individual pixels.\u201d<\/p>\n

That experience abroad evolved into a personal mission to repair often-overlooked city infrastructure with pixelated art of his own. As a playful tribute to the French artist\u2019s work, many of his drain covers feature invaders \u2014 those little creatures from the \u201cSpace Invaders<\/a>\u201d video game.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Other drain covers showcase Pac-Man throwbacks and anime characters based on the work of Hayao Miyazaki, the Japanese animator, director and manga artist. DraINvader sees these personal interests and tributes as something that will resonate with others.<\/p>\n

\"ASome of DraINvader\u2019s artwork depicts Japanese anime characters, such as No-Face (seen here) from the film, \u201cSpirited Away.\u201d Photo by JL Odom\"ADraInvader is a fan of the work of Hayao Miyazaki, a Japanese animator, filmmaker and manga artist. The creature on this drain cover, named Totoro, is from the film \u201cMy Neighbor Totoro.\u201d Photo by JL Odom<\/p>\n

\u201cThey lend themselves well to being expressed and are also something that I think can spark joy in people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In other cases, what\u2019s nearby influences what he ends up designing. Take, for example, his flamingo drain cover in proximity to a front yard full to the brim with decorations of the pink bird.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was walking one day, and I saw the flamingos, and I thought, \u2018Oh, this would be great,\u2019\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There are also sight-specific pairings with local artists\u2019 work. A few feet away from a Jeremy Novy<\/a>\u2019s koi fish mural on Scott Street is DraINvader\u2019s mini-replica of one of Novy\u2019s signature white, orange, and black aquatic vertebrates. In front of 712 Steiner St., aka the Pink Painted Lady, is a drain cover with a pint-sized honey bear. It marks the address where the \u201cfnnch Museum<\/a>,\u201d a retrospective of over 100 honey bear paintings by the street artist fnnch<\/a>, was open to the public from July to October 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"ASeveral of DraINvader\u2019s drain covers are site-specific, including his flamingo one on the corner of Waller and Castro Streets. Photo by JL Odom\"ADraINvader\u2019s odes to local artists, such as Jeremy Novy\u2019s koi fish murals, are thoughtful and intricate. He shared that each plate design takes anywhere from 30 minutes to a few days. The 3D-printing, depending on the complexity of the design, ranges from 3 to 10 hours. Photo by JL Odom\"AA handful of DraINvader\u2019s creations complement San Francisco street artists\u2019 pieces, including fnnch\u2019s honey bears. Photo by JL Odom<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s, overall, about trying to create a dialogue with culture, from global nostalgia to local references to things that honor local artists or speak to the identity of the neighborhood,\u201d said DraINvader.<\/p>\n

He had installed another fnnch-inspired drain cover in front of a garage mural of a rubber duck on Fell Street. As of December, fnnch\u2019s yellow duck is still there, but its small square counterpart has disappeared.<\/p>\n

DraINvader said his perspective on how to respond to instances of theft or damage is still developing. Sometimes he\u2019ll recreate the exact cover and place it where it had been; other times, he\u2019ll move it to another location.<\/p>\n

While he usually scopes out neighborhoods on his own to assess where covers are needed, he\u2019s also started crowdsourcing via an online request<\/a> page. On a city map, people can pinpoint a location and chime in about a design idea.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s something where I\u2019m always happy to have people participate and invite artwork into their space,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

One person asked for an Ongo<\/a> drain cover (\u201cI deeply miss seeing Danny Devito\/Ongo Gablogian on the drain outside of The Page on Page St.\u201d). Another sought a design to complement a disco ball and skeleton in the window of a Divisadero Street home (\u201cDisco skelly needs a friend\u201d).\u00a0<\/p>\n

The requests branch out to neighborhoods like Noe Valley and the Outer Sunset. His goal is to eventually fulfill all of them, one drain cover at a time.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe more that I\u2019ve done this, the more I\u2019ve been met with gratitude,\u201d he said. \u201cFor the most part, people are very grateful when you\u2019re out there fixing this problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019s given thought to expanding the project to other cities, like NYC, and doing more with the drain covers themselves \u2014 making them interactive in some way, adding features of some sort.<\/p>\n

The possibilities are literally everywhere, as there\u2019s no shortage of uncovered drain holes.<\/p>\n

\u201dI\u2019m having a ton of fun doing this and hope that people enjoy it and start to notice,\u201d DraINvader said. \u201cLiterally, by not looking up, you can sometimes find this little gem that\u2019s a reminder that it\u2019s worth doing simple acts of kindness for the city and creating art where there is no art.\u201d<\/p>\n

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