Lyme Artist Helps Bring East Haddam History — and Cats — to Life in New Mural

EAST HADDAM, CT – Two Wrasslin’ Cats will celebrate the completion of a new community mural depicting East Haddam’s history Sunday, Oct. 4, from 4 to 6 p.m., with remarks at 5 p.m.

The 374 Town St. mural was envisioned by Mark Thiede, owner of the coffeehouse and cafe, along with artists Jac Lahav and Aliyah Lacombe. It uses anthropomorphic cats to reveal a visual timeline from the area’s Indigenous history to the present.

In a news release, Lahav said the artwork was inspired by more than a dozen figures, including abolitionist David Ruggles, who was born in Lyme, and workplace safety pioneer Alice Hamilton, who died there.

Lahav, of Lyme, is an artist with more than 10 solo museum exhibitions incorporating diverse materials and themes drawn from symbolism and personal history. The New London-based Lacombe is an interdisciplinary artist whose work embodies her Haitian and Afro roots through oil painting.

The project was funded through community donations with support from Public Art for Racial Justice Education (PARJE) and a matching grant from Sustainable Connecticut. The East Haddam Historical Society Museum provided research assistance.

PARJE has installed murals from New London to Old Saybrook, including one at Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School.

Lahav said the mural, titled You Never Walk Alone, is intended to reflect the central belief that a community is shaped by “many people, many stories, and shared participation.”