A celebration of Oregon’s diversity debuts at Portland International Airport

At first glance, Eugene artist Liza Mana Burns’ latest mural is a bright and colorful panorama depicting Oregon’s diverse landscape.

However, the work, titled “Celebrate Oregon!” actually contains images of 127 seemingly random objects: a wine bottle, a Chinook salmon, a comic book, the Siuslaw Bridge — all on display at Portland International Airport’s Concourse B, near Alaska Airlines gates

Individually, the objects depicted in the mural might seem inconsequential. But take a step back and you’ll realize that every one of them represents a part of Oregon’s history.

At the bottom left corner is a beer glass, a nod to Oregon’s reputation as being at the forefront of the craft beer industry.

Shift your eyes to the right, and you might find the books “The Left Hand of Darkness” by Ursula Le Guin and “Only What We Could Carry” by Lawson Fusao Inada, two of Oregon’s most prominent writers.

Suddenly, the mural’s message becomes clear: Oregon isn’t a homogenous place.

Much like it’s diverse geography, the state is a collection of different people and customs that come together to form a giant cultural mosaic.