By Terri Ciccone

There’s an alley alongside the Factory Fresh Gallery in Bushwick that is both welcoming and foreboding. If you’re not used to the somewhat desolate and industrial area, it shines like a sign that says “walk over here and you’re going the right way.” It’s foreboding in that it looks like a passageway out of Law & Order: SVU. There’s a fence on its last legs, broken glass and a forgotten tire every now and then. Jim Avignon took the space and made it as welcoming as a carnival, a bright and happy coat of paint and cast of characters stand on a wall to amuse you and tell you a story.

A cast of characters happily guide you down the alley. Snakes swirling around cracks in the wall, smiling cowboys riding bullets, pink elephants blowing steam at cigar smoking mustached men, colorful houses, boats, teddy bears, crocodiles, skeletons and musical instruments all come to life, interacting with each other down a long brick wall. It’s as if these creations are all mingling with each other down a long corridor of a frat party.

The fact that the bright colors make the alley a much happier place did not happen by chance.