The shadow knows

Ellis parking meter
Uploaded by jeanphony on 19 Jun '05, 4.34am PST.

Street artist ©Ellis G. knows how to control his fear... with chalk. His shadow outlines have been turning up all over the neighborhood, particularly on Smith Street. The back story is classic New York.

About a month ago, artist, Ellis Gallagher, 31, was mugged in the foyer of his Cobble Hill home. "I saw this shadow on the front door," he recalls. "It was this guy with a two-foot-long machete saying 'Gimme your money!'"

The thief made off with $82. Gallagher called the cops, who caught the perp later than night. End of story, if not for an admitted case of posttraumatic stress. "I'd jump every time I saw a shadow," Gallagher says. "That's when I started the drawings–as self medication."

Stop into Apartment 138 for a peek at some of his canvases. Quote from Howard Halle's story in Time Out New York.