Fresh pics: Honoring Jimi Hendrix at Judkins Park Station

By Katie Metzger

April 16, 2021

I hear my train a comin’ – because East Link opens in two years!

All 10 stations along the 14-mile extension are really coming together.

Earlier this month, we hit a big milestone at Judkins Park Station with of the completion of one of two art installations.

The station, located in the center of I-90 with entrances at Rainier and 23rd avenues, will be the first stop on the East Link light rail line that will connect Seattle with Bellevue and Redmond.

My aim is to further highlight how deeply rooted Hendrix’ music and artistic voice is in the city of Seattle and the surrounding community. –Hank Willis Thomas

As the only station in Seattle on this new line, Judkins Park features public art honoring the life and legacy of one of the city’s native sons: Jimi Hendrix.

Artist Hank Willis Thomas has designed two projects for the Judkins Park Station, both using images given to him (via license) by Janie Hendrix (Jimi Hendrix’ sister) from the Authentic Hendrix archives.

The first project is currently being installed at the station's east entrance from 23rd Avenue South.

According to Thomas, the artwork “is a photomural based on two photographs of Jimi Hendrix using a hall of mirrors effect. Rendered in a halftone pattern, the image will read as a sharp, cohesive image from a distance and as abstract and reflective when viewed up close.”

A close up of the dot matrix art. — Thomas’ art in close-up.

Looking up at the mural featuring Jimi Hendrix provides a different perspective. It's more difficult to make out his face from this angle. — A different angle.

A mural features many faces of Jimi Hendrix. It is being installed at a light rail station under construction. — Move farther away for a different perspective. This is the east entrance to the station, at 23rd Avenue South.

An architectural rendering shows the future Judkins Park Station with the finished mural featuring Jimi Hendrix. — A rendering of the finished mural.

Thomas says that his use of historic images and “halftone technique are a continuation of my interest in and exploration of how history informs notions of place and identity through different cultural and artistic perspectives.”

Thomas’ other mural, a colorful piece on the west side along Rainier, will be installed over the summer. This piece uses another image from the Authentic Hendrix image archive.

In it, Hendrix is a 15-year-old just back from playing a gig and posing for his father at their Seattle home.

Also rendered in half-tone dots, the mural will appear as an abstraction up close, but read as a photograph from a distance.

A rendering of another mural at Judkins Park Station featuring Jimi Hendrix as a 15-year-old musician. — A rendering of the west entrance of Judkins Park Station.

Judkins Park Station is located in Seattle's Central District, next to Jimi Hendrix Park and the Northwest African American Museum, as well as the I-90 trail.

The station will be proud symbol of the area’s rich heritage and a connector for the community and, with local bus transfers making it easy to connect to light rail for transit riders, and for people walking and cycling.

Here's where the station is located along the East Link Extension:

A map shows the East Link Extension from Seattle to Bellevue and Redmond. — East Link opens in 2023.

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