World Art Utopia

Opossum mural by ROA, Pilsen, Chicago, Illinois

A giant black-and-white opossum painted on a weathered concrete railway retaining wall, stretched low to the ground with its pointed snout at the left, a round ear, a dark eye and long clawed front paws reaching forward. Its fur is drawn in thousands of fine white and black strokes, and its long bare tail runs out to the right along the base of a lower stretch of wall. A metal railing and weeds line the top of the embankment against a blue sky. A dark red sedan is parked on the cracked pavement in front of the animal’s head, and a red graffiti tag sits on the wall above the tail.
Artwork FileChicago · USA
SeenJun 2024

The Pilsen
possum

ROA · Opossum, 2012 · 16th Street near Ashland Avenue, Pilsen, Chicago

Photo: Elizabeth (Flickr), as credited on Street Art Utopia

  • #ROA
  • #Pilsen
  • #16thStreet
  • #ArtInPublicPlaces
  • #PawnWorks
  • #ChicagoUrbanArtSociety

A giant opossum stretches along the concrete wall under the railway tracks on 16th Street in Pilsen, Chicago. Belgian artist ROA painted it in black, white and red in August 2012. Walk past the corner and the animal opens up: a chunk of its body is missing, with red innards on show.

4 things to know

  1. One animal, two picturesThe wall bends where it passes under the Metra tracks. From one spot you see a whole opossum crouched with its nose to the ground. A few steps to the right, a chunk is missing from its middle, “as if chewed out by another animal”, the Chicago Tribune wrote. ROA chose the wall for that bend. Chicago Tribune · ArchitectureChicago PLUS
  2. Three days, three coloursAccording to the Tribune, ROA finished the wall in three days, using only black, white and red. Some of the red was sprayed onto the dirt and weeds in front of the wall, Hyperallergic noted. Chicago Tribune · Hyperallergic
  3. “That’s not a possum, that’s a RAT!”Almost a year later, a photo on a Pilsen Facebook page set off complaints. Some neighbours read the animal as a rat and the mural as an insult to the neighbourhood. The alderman’s spokeswoman answered: “It does resemble a rat, sure. But we do have possums in Chicago, too.” DNAinfo Chicago
  4. Part of a plan for 16th StreetThe opossum was painted for “Art in Public Places: A 25th Ward Community Initiative”, launched by Alderman Danny Solís in 2012. The Chicago Urban Art Society ran it with his office, and Pawn Works Gallery brought in the international artists. ROA was on a US tour and came to Chicago after New York. The DePaulia · Time Out Chicago · Brooklyn Street Art

Check-in guide

📍
Railway retaining wall on the north side of 16th Street, between Laflin Street and Ashland Avenue, Pilsen, Chicago (ArchitectureChicago PLUS). Street Art Cities lists it at 1540 W. 16th Street (Street Art Cities).
🧭
The Maps button uses OpenStreetMap’s point for 1540 W. 16th Street, on the street itself; the wall is on the north side. Street Art Cities’ own pin sits about 1.2 km too far east, near Morgan Street. Look for the bend in the wall under the Metra tracks.
👀
From one angle the opossum looks whole. Walk a few steps to the right and the gap in its body opens up (Chicago Tribune). Parked cars often block part of the view.
🎨
The wall is part of the 16th Street murals, a two-mile embankment of murals that runs from Halsted Street west to Western Avenue (Choose Chicago).
Open in MapsStreet Art Cities marker

Sightings

  1. 20127 Aug

    StreetArtNews: “just completed”

  2. 201213 Aug

    Brooklyn Street Art, Pawn Works photos

  3. 201217 Aug

    Chicago Tribune on the wall

  4. 20124 Sep

    Our photo first published

  5. 201210 Sep

    Hyperallergic photos

  6. 201318 Jun

    DNAinfo: neighbours complain

  7. 201529 Dec

    Street Art NYC photo

  8. 20197 Jun

    Getty Images photo

  9. 202314 Jul

    Flickr photo (uploaded)

  10. 202415 Jun

    Street Art Cities: last marked seen

Every stamp links to the dated source.

On the record

Chicago Tribune17 August 2012

World-renowned street artist leaves opossum in Pilsen

“It took ROA only three days and three colors–black, white and red–to complete his piece.”

Lauren Pacheco of the Chicago Urban Art Society describes how ROA picked the bending wall under the Metra tracks. The article also says Pacheco worked with Nick Marzullo of Pawn Works to bring him to Pilsen.

Read

Hyperallergic10 September 2012

Giant Rodent Menaces Chicago

“Some of the red paint is sprayed on the dirt and weeds on the ground, giving the mural an extra dose of grisly realism.”

Philip A. Hartigan, with his own photos. He puts the mural at 16th Street and Ashland Avenue and its length at “about twenty feet”.

Read

DNAinfo Chicago18 June 2013

Pilsen Possum Mural Still Raising a Stink

“Almost a year after its creation, a possum mural at 16th Street and Ashland Avenue is still getting mixed reviews, with some calling it “offensive and tasteless.””

Chloe Riley, after a Facebook photo by the Pilsen Portal drew complaints. Lauren Pacheco, the alderman’s spokeswoman, said the priority was restoring some of the neighbourhood’s older murals. The office had received complaints but named no plan to remove the opossum.

Read

Brooklyn Street Art13 August 2012

ROA and a Half-Eaten Carcass in Chicago

“Hosted by the folks at Pawn Works Gallery, ROA was invited to participate in their ongoing outdoor project “Art in Public Places” in the Pilsen neighborhood.”

Published the week after ROA painted it, with photos by Nick Marzullo of Pawn Works.

Read

The facts

Artist
ROA, Belgian street artist (Chicago Tribune, Hyperallergic, Brooklyn Street Art) Checked
Title
No official title found. The press calls it a possum or opossum mural; Getty Images captions it “Exploded Possum” Unconfirmed
Date
Early August 2012. StreetArtNews reported it “just completed” on 7 August 2012; Brooklyn Street Art wrote on 13 August that ROA had been in Chicago “last week” Checked
Place
Railway retaining wall on 16th Street between Laflin Street and Ashland Avenue, Pilsen (ArchitectureChicago PLUS; the Tribune says “near Laflin Street”). Hyperallergic and DNAinfo say “at 16th Street and Ashland Avenue”. Street Art Cities gives 1540 W. 16th Street Checked
The wall
The Tribune calls it two walls joined at a sharp angle under the Metra tracks; ArchitectureChicago PLUS, citing a RedEye account, says three parts, both by Erin Vogel. These are two descriptions by one writer, not independent sources. The photos show a front wall and one wall set further back Unconfirmed
What it shows
One opossum, seen whole from one angle and torn open from another (Tribune, Hyperallergic, ArchitectureChicago PLUS). The DePaulia described “two rodent-like animals”. We follow the Tribune and the photos Conflicting
Organisers
“Art in Public Places”, a 25th Ward initiative of Ald. Danny Solís. Sources name the Chicago Urban Art Society and Pawn Works Gallery (Nick Marzullo) as organisers, with slightly different roles Reported
Medium, size
Black, white and red paint, three days’ work (Tribune). About twenty feet long, around a corner (Hyperallergic). No measured size found Reported
Photo
Credited on Street Art Utopia to Elizabeth on Flickr. That Flickr account is now gone, so the licence could not be checked. The same photo was first published on Street Art Utopia on 4 September 2012, so it was taken within the mural’s first weeks Unconfirmed
Status
Newest dated photo: a Flickr photo uploaded 14 July 2023 shows the opossum in place, from head to tail. Street Art Cities lists it as active, last marked seen 15 June 2024. No report of removal found Checked

Related

All sources (16)

This wall

Dated photos

Background

Artwork File · Last checked 4 October 2026 · Certainty labels follow How We Verify Art · All Artwork Files