The WOOL Urban Art Festival, held annually in Covilhã, Portugal, is a renowned celebration of street art that has been transforming the city walls since its inception in 2011. This festival, sponsored and organized by a dedicated team committed to promoting social, cultural, and economic transformation through public art, has become a pivotal event in the urban art calendar. Covilhã, a city with a rich history in the wool industry, provides a unique backdrop – with its steep cobblestone streets and historic architecture, offering a perfect canvas for murals and installations.
The 2024 edition of the WOOL Urban Art Festival features an impressive lineup of artists from around the globe. This year’s participants include Daniela Guerreiro from Portugal, Isaac Cordal from Spain, Millo from Italy, Mots from Poland, Mura from Brazil, and Spy from Spain. Each artist brings a distinctive style to the festival, from Cordal’s thought-provoking miniature sculptures to Millo’s large-scale monochromatic murals of giants in the city. The festival continues to embrace a philosophy of community engagement and urban regeneration, aiming to democratize art and involve the local population in the creative process.
A highlight of this year’s festival was the presence of renowned photographer Martha Cooper – her photographs here offer an intimate glimpse into the artistic process and the vibrant cultural exchange that defines WOOL.
In addition to creating new murals, the festival also featured “Wool Talks,” a series of discussions that delved into the impact of urban art on society and its potential for fostering cultural cohesion and sustainability. Attendees took guided tours of the murals, which include visits to iconic sites such as the Burel wool factory, linking the city’s industrial heritage with its contemporary artistic endeavors.
“Idle Time has become that free moment we have between one task and another in the production process. Productive inertia has turned idle time into a simulacrum of leisure, a residual time in which, strangely enough, we don’t seem to know what to do.” – Isaac Cordal
In the vibrant heart of Madrid’s Barrio de las Letras, Isaac Cordal’s exhibition “Tiempos Muertos,” more aptly understood as “Idle Times,” debuted at the ON Art Space on Calle Santa Maria 37. Hailing from Pontevedra, Galicia, and currently residing in Bilbao, Cordal is celebrated for his distinctively satirical and somewhat melancholic view of our societal landscape.
Trained in the art of sculpture at the School of Fine Arts in Pontevedra and further refining his craft at the School of Canteiros, his work masterfully intertwines traditional techniques with contemporary themes. Renowned for his “Cement Eclipses” project, Cordal’s miniature sculptures have become a critical lens through which the absurdity of our daily routines and the deeper malaises of urban life are magnified.
“Idle Times” offers a small yet comprehensive survey of Cordal’s stylistic evolution, weaving together his enduring fascination with the mundane, the mystifying, the miniature, and the monumental. This exhibition invites viewers on a reflective journey through the paradoxical trappings of modern life, where productivity and idleness, connection and isolation, digital engagement and disengagement perpetually intersect.
Cordal’s dark humor shines through as he nods to the stupefying muddle that is our existence, capturing the essence of idle moments as both a puzzling symptom and a withering critique of our times. “The infinite scroll is the closest thing to the modern rosary,” he observes, highlighting a soulless collective drift into digital oblivion and ever-greater productivity.
Through various installations that span his recent career, “Idle Times” showcases Cordal’s ability to encapsulate the peculiarities of contemporary human conditions with irony and depth. His sculptures, set against the backdrop of urban decay or the cold glow of a smartphone screen, serve as poignant reminders of life’s absurd theatre. It’s in these finely crafted scenes of everyday disconnectedness that Cordal’s voice is most resonant, urging us to question the true cost of our ceaseless hustle. At the same time, the digital leash increasingly binds us.
We once summarized Cordal’s oeuvre as a “catastrophic reality and a sense of entrapment within an electronic prison of everyday existence,” underscoring the artist’s commitment to exploring the boundaries between reality and satire. “Idle Times” not only celebrates Isaac Cordal’s artistic journey but continues to challenge viewers to confront the absurdity of our daily lives, with a bit of laughter if you can summon it.
Situated in the North Sea, 18 kilometers west of Haugesund, Utsira epitomizes Norway’s maritime heritage in Rogaland County. As the county’s smallest municipality, this 6.15-square-kilometer island with around 200 residents is deeply rooted in Norge traditions. Its historic dual-tower lighthouse has guided North Sea vessels since 1844.
Utsira not only boasts natural beauty and wildlife, including migratory birds and local livestock, but also showcases innovative sustainable energy projects, like their wind and hydrogen initiative from the early 2000s. Its archaeological treasures, from stone rings to burial mounds, echo the island’s deep heritage. Embracing both the old and new, Utsira has attracted international street artists here since 2014, enhancing its cultural tapestry. To experience this unique blend, take a ferry from Haugesund.
Icy & Sot, Issac Cordal, Pichiavo and Borondo have all created artworks here, so have SNIK, Hama Woods, and JPS, and several others during the last decade. The names are only as important as their proximity to a fan, as it turns out. As you cycle along the narrow winding roads or trek up the rocky hills, you might overlook it at first, but there’s likely a piece of street art nearby – just beyond where those two rams are butting heads.
Visiting the Utsira island for the first time in August of that year, public art curators and organizers Tor Ståle Moen and Borghild Marie were very curious about how the islanders would react to their idea. Would they welcome or resist the idea of bringing street artists to paint old barn doors or enormous seaside boulders in this pristine and remote home to 211 people?
“The island was 100% “clean” from any tags, graffiti, and street art,” says Tor. “They didn’t even have the names of their streets at that time.”
The magnetic charm of the island’s pristine beauty, deep-rooted history, and innovative spirit drew the duo back, time and again, to see more of the terrain and classic Norwegian architecture, and close-knit community. Over the span of a decade, people here warmly welcomed a handpicked ensemble of street artists, each personally cherished or inspiring to the pair. First-timers on the island are now treated to a subtly integrated treasure hunt of site-specific artworks tucked away and openly displayed in equal measure. The island’s lively art program has quietly become a shining example of how tight-knit communities can joyfully embrace the language of street art, all while celebrating and safeguarding their rich cultural heritage.
“The white-painted picturesque old-fashioned Norwegian wood houses were perfectly blended with the green and grey colored landscape,” Tor says of the environment where he and Borghild first inquired about their idea. “The answers came quickly as many people were interested in observing one of the artists while they were painting—and they positively commented on their art.”
“The oldest person living on the island, Tobias, was 87. He approached us and said, ‘There are too many grey walls in this world. Would you like to come over to my house and paint my wall in front?’ Of course, we reacted positively, and the artist ‘3 Fountains’ painted two kissing kids in front of his house. Tobias both smiled and had tears in his eyes when he saw the piece for the first time,” says Tor.
“‘Now, doesn’t the wall look much better?’” Tobias told Tor. “I used to work as a sailor back in the day, and I have seen street art in New York, Rio De Janeiro, and other cities back in the 70’s and 80’s. Finally, I can now see street art on my island. Thank you very much.”
We spoke with Tor Ståle Moen and Borghild Marie as they prepared to celebrate ten years of curating street art on the island of Utsira and asked them about their experiences there.
BSA: What were the origins of bringing street art to Utsira? How was the idea formed and presented? TSM & BM: Several of Tor’s street art friends wanted to come to Stavanger to paint, but Stavanger already had a festival curated by NuArt. Borghild Marie knew Utsira, with its unique environment and engaged population with Tove Grimsby as a passionate doer. So she wrote Tove, and asked if this tiny Island without street names wanted some street art. The answer was loud and clear: ‘Yes, please!’
BSA: Does the project rely on public funding? Is there funding coming from private donors? TSM & BM: The project has been supported by both public and private funding, but primarily with public funding, the Utsira municipality and the region of Rogaland as major donors. But private donors have helped with labor, material, food, housing, and support with travel costs, etcetera. The whole island has contributed, and we have as well.
BSA: Who is the project manager or director? Is she/he/they based in Utsira? TSM & BM: It’s more of a committee work, and by now, all involved are locals. We contribute as advisors when needed.
BSA: Can you speak about the residents and their involvement in the process? Did they have strong opinions in favor or against bringing street art to their island? TSM & BM: The islanders have greeted the art and artists, with great warmth. They have baked cakes, cooked dinners, taken the artists fishing, and invited them to their homes. Many of the artists have engaged in teaching art techniques at the school, and Icy and Sot conducted a beach cleanup together with the islanders.
BSA: Can you describe the collaboration between Martyn Reed, who ran the Nuart Festival based in Stavanger, and this Utsira project? How has the project evolved over time? TSM & BM: Nuart was invited to promote the events mutually to strengthen the whole region’s identity as a street art location, but their contribution is very limited.
BSA: What’s the process of extending an invitation to an artist to participate? It is such a remote location – how does the artist live there, and who do they interact with? TSM & BM: They have been housed in various ways, but most have stayed in the “artist in residence” space at the lighthouse.
BSA: Can you speak more about how residents have welcomed the artists and offered assistance or volunteered to help? TSM & BM: As answered above, the response has been overwhelmingly engaged and heartfelt. Many have contributed with gear (ladders, etc.), food, friendship, nature experiences, babysitting, etc. They express gratitude because the art enhances the everyday life on the Island, bringing new impulses and people to the Island.
BSA: The project is now in its 10th anniversary and recently, the British duo Snik painted on the island. What are the plans for the future? TSM & BM: We don’t know, but we have our eyes on big names who suit the Island well.
BSA: On a personal level, what does the project mean for you two, and how involved are you presently in bringing more artists to Utsira? TSM & BM: We have a deeply felt love and passion for Utsira and will support the project with our network and advice. But it is equally important to us that the islanders own the event. It’s their environment, and the art should live and breathe their voice and pace.
Welcome to BSA Images of the Week! This week we have some great stuff from Norway for you.
The southern tip of Norway, graced by picturesque towns like Flekkefjord, Obrestad, Bryne, Sandnes, and Stavanger, is imbued with a rich tapestry of history, culture, and breathtaking natural beauty. Nestled along the summer coastline, these towns stand as a testament to Norway’s maritime history and heritage.
As you are driving and winding through the green rolling countryside and into quaint old idyllic towns countenancing picturesque harbors, waterfronts, wooden buildings, cobblestone streets, boat parades, seafood-focused cuisine, towering cliffs, and steep mountainsides plunging dramatically into the deep, serene waters below that, produce and interplay of light and shadow and a mesmerizing tapestry of colors, you think “Where did all of these sheep come from?” At first, during our two days of driving the south Norwegian countryside, we thought we had stumbled into a unique town with those puffy white animals dotting the green hills, constantly chewing, but they would soon disappear. Little did we know.
In the US, there are 16 sheep per person in the country. In Norway, it is 463.
And they are all freaking adorable—also rams. Rams are very adorable but might knock you on your rumpa if you get too close.
Also, there was a very modest amount of street art among all the natural beauty and stunning architecture. Still, with our expert guides, we found surprising occurrences of stencils and murals and the occasional tag while traipsing through places like Flekkefjord, Sandness, and Obrestad (in a lighthouse!).
Our sincere thanks to Tor and Marie for showing us the sights and the beautiful fjords. Hey, did you hear about the musical fjord? It’s quite a harmonious inlet!
Here’s our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring: Isaac Cordal, 1UP Crew, David De La Mano, Said Dokins, Ethos, JPS, Pøbel, Hama Woods, Smug, Jofre Oliveras, Helene Norkildsen, Nimi, RH-74 Renate, Pablo S. Herrero, Juan Fiveliner, Skrue, Anette Moi, Ugly Logo.
A 5-village mural program will be surely eclectic, to say the least. The first Osona Artimur Festival produced 19 of them, murals that is, and each speaks to the sensitivities of the modern era, an awareness of local history, and the unarticulated sensibilities of a multi-headed program here in the countryside just to the north of Barcelona. Curated by members and organizers at a pioneering urban art center called B-Murals, the quality of work and diversity of styles represent a fair survey of the international scene at the moment, with a decidedly local sabor.
With B-Murals bringing the community and educational roots to the project, the complex execution during this autumn was coordinated with the Department of Tourism of Osona and the Catalan company Transit Projects. Working closely with the five villages, they served as intermediaries between locals and the international artists who came to paint there from France, Germany, Argentina, Ireland, Italy, Chile,… and closer to home.
The towns of Prats de Lluçanès, Manlleu, Sant Julià de Vilatorta, Sant Bartomeu del Grau, and Alpens welcomed the artists. All participants were supported by an extensive production team, including assistants, runners, photographers, and film archivists. Here is our first of two postings from this part of Spain that features rivers, mountains, and beautiful landscapes.
Our special thanks to Fer Acala for sharing his images and observations about the event with us and BSA readers.
Invited artists: Zoer, Ana Barriga, Satone, Nano4814, Luogo Comune, Isaac Cordal, Rosh, Alberto Montes, Jan Vallverdú, Marta Lapeña, Eloise Gillow Artists selected by open call: Twee Muizen, Sergi Bastida, Wedo Goas Artists working on participatory processes: Daniel Muñoz, Chu Doma, Alessia Innocenti, Mateu Targa, Zosen
A stunning outdoor public art installation today from Isaac Cordal that borders conceptual art, land art, and activist art. It depends on how deep into these woods you go.
Isaac Cordal. “Green Desert”. Pontevedra, Galicia. (photos by Isaac Cordal, Cuco and Lois Cid)
We surmise that you are a true fan of art in the streets. If so, you’ll also fondly recognize the image of the fire extinguisher as the most badass uncontrollable way to spray your tag across a prominent city wall– the equivalent of a scream and a hot emotional mess all on display. Here Mr. Cordal hopes the symbolic image packs the same emotional/intellectual punch.
Mounted in his hometown, Pontevedra, in Galicia, which lies on the northern coast of Spain, the artist tells us that many areas of the earth are turning to monocultures, making us all much more fragile and susceptible to disaster. With greater diversity of plant life and the associated ecosystem, one species may suffer while the others can bridge the gap. The ironic term for this forest monoculture that Cordal addresses is called a “green desert.”
Isaac Cordal. “Green Desert”. Pontevedra, Galicia. (photos by Isaac Cordal, Cuco and Lois Cid)
And that is what is happening in Pontevedra, “which has had a factory called Ence in operation since 1957, dedicated to making cellulose pulp from eucalyptus trees,” he tells us. “This invasive species has practically wiped out the native forests. Since then, a large part of northern Spain and Portugal has become a monoculture of this pyrophyte species, which alarmingly aggravates forest fires and destroys biodiversity, as well as drying up aquifers. The landscape has become a green desert, where nothing grows; it looks like a synthetic forest.”
“We must recover our lost paradise that still remains resilient.”
Isaac Cordal. “Green Desert”. Pontevedra, Galicia. (photos by Isaac Cordal, Cuco and Lois Cid)
Walking through these woods, you may generally find the blue, green, and brown hues soothing and welcoming – the canopy overhead shielding you from the sun, and the crunch of the leaves and branches beneath you is enlivening. This fresh interplay makes one feel adventurous, on the lamb with a sense of possibility. When you see Cordal’s fire extinguishers hung with an alarming sameness, you may also question the uniformity of tree species. Something is precisely amiss.
Without becoming too complicated, the strength we are losing is in the variety – and Cordal says the current solutions offered are too superficial and insincere.
Isaac Cordal. “Green Desert”. Pontevedra, Galicia. (photos by Isaac Cordal, Cuco and Lois Cid)
“The project arises from the lack of a forestry policy in accordance with the current situation,” he says. This idea inspired his installation to instantly help people connect the idea. “The idea of decorative or marketing solutions is so fashionable today in the era of greenwashing. Our actions remain a kind of make-up to make us feel less guilty about the future.”
Cordal explains that the term ‘green desert’ arose in the 1980s when Brazil’s cellulose industry left the people with vast tracks of the same trees. He says this approach only fuels a hellish future, and we’re not doing much to alleviate the situation.
“Current forestry policy is more decorative than effective,” Cordal says. “We need a forestry policy that controls the monoculture of eucalyptus in Galicia, and northern Spain, that protects native biodiversity, that puts an end to this green, lifeless desert that has colonized our territory.”
Isaac Cordal. “Green Desert”. Pontevedra, Galicia. (photos by Isaac Cordal, Cuco and Lois Cid)Isaac Cordal. “Green Desert”. Pontevedra, Galicia. (photos by Isaac Cordal, Cuco and Lois Cid)
The storied, busy, festive Spanish city of Valencia lies about an hour south of Fanzara, and the difference between the two could not be more pronounced. One of many across the country, this small town has been aging, shrinking in population, a shadow of its former charming self. Since the Fanzara Miau Mural Festival began about a decade ago, that direction has been slowly reversing, with an infusion of murals all over town.
The tourist trafficked has become notable, and that youthful demographic once again wanders through the winding streets, greeting old timers and taking photos of the murals and of course, posing for selfies in front of them.
The artworks are quite varied, with street artists now often formally trained studio professionals and those working in the advertising and commercial art industries. Thankfully the feeling remains free spirited, and many artists appear to await inspiration for their subject matter until arriving, preferring to be inspired by their new environment and creating something that initiates dialogue with their surroundings.
From the classically figurative to naïve, illustrative to photorealistic, the natural world to daily life, the common thread is thoughtful and considered work that is far from the hype of other street art festivals – and safely far from commercial gloss.
Today we have new photos from the 2022 edition by frequent contributor Lluis Olive Bulbena.
Now on view until January 28th at SC Gallery in Bilbao, street artist/contemporary artist Isaac Cordal’s hapless little men are being subsumed into the machinery of our meaningless times, positioned in perpetual fog, adrift and submissive, unable to resist the march to a digital life that is in never-ending production mode. While the electronic prison walls of everyday existence appear to be closing in, perhaps Cordal’s dire scenarios are cautionary, not definitive, for our future.
Isaac Cordal. “24/7” SC Gallery. Bilbao, Spain. (image courtesy of the gallery)
His second solo exhibition here, he calls this collection “24/7”. As work life has implicated itself into every aspect of so-called “leisure” time, these color-drained scenarios present themselves as a series of connections without connectedness, trapped in their own cycles. In his essay that accompanies the exhibition, philosopher, curator and cultural critic Alberto Ruiz de Samaniego describes the insipid trappings of modern life as a disabling process of dumbing-down the everyman.
Isaac Cordal. “24/7” SC Gallery. Bilbao, Spain. (image courtesy of the gallery)
“His mode of existence is none other than stupefaction, a term that comes from the same root as stupidity. It is that of the individual who sees everything, but can no longer do anything.”
As ever, Cordal’s lead-heavy scenarios suggest that this is not a benign truth, but a profoundly catastrophic one. Using animals, machines, and dismally austere architectural forms that recall institutional incarceration, his balding concrete avatars are engaged with allegories that are inescapable. Yet de Samaniego suggests that the artist doesn’t want you to succumb, even as it appears there is no escape.
“We have to proceed from the astonished helplessness with which, like the man on the balcony of Isaac Cordal’s premises, we often contemplate and witness daily life,” he says, suggesting there is something more transformative at its root. “Each scene is a moment of crisis and describes the imminence of a tragedy, a catastrophe, a denouement – a catharsis, perhaps.”
Isaac Cordal. “24/7” SC Gallery. Bilbao, Spain. (image courtesy of the gallery)Isaac Cordal. “24/7” SC Gallery. Bilbao, Spain. (image courtesy of the gallery)Isaac Cordal. “24/7” SC Gallery. Bilbao, Spain. (image courtesy of the gallery)Isaac Cordal. “24/7” SC Gallery. Bilbao, Spain. (image courtesy of the gallery)
Isaac Cordal’s “24/7” at SC Gallery in Bilbao will be open from December 17 to January 28 2022. Click HERE for more details.
It’s a curious pleasure to meet some of the extended members of the Isaac Cordal businessmen after all these years, isn’t it? For a decade or so you’ve been seeing his balding men in rumpled suits installed on ledges and window sills – contemplating their ennui, reviewing their rotten deeds, realizing they had wasted their lives playing the stock market only to feel empty. Now it’s time to meet the family?
Now the Spanish street artist expands the circle as he attends the Fazunchar Festival in Figueiro dos Vinhos in Portugal, and you are seeing his new sculptures perched in new spaces throughout the village. “I have had the opportunity to add new neighbours,” he says.
Where is the inspiration for these new neighbors coming from? “I’ve been reflecting on the passage of time, emigration, the abandonment of the countryside, and the climate crisis among other issues,” he tells us.
Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities.
Now screening participants at Festival Asalto 2020: 1. Isaac Cordal 2. Elbi Elem 3. Akacorleone 4. Lida Cao 5. Diego Vicente 6. Karto 7. Marta Lapena 8. Sawu 9. Slim Safont
BSA Special Feature: Festival Asalto 2020
In Barrio San Jose (Zaragoza) the Festival Asalto mounted its 2020 edition in spite of, and perhaps because of, the very strange time that we are living in. Once considered an expression of the counterculture, illegal street art has evolved in some ways to spawn legal mural festivals that actually reinforce a sense of normalcy. The organizers and participants of Festival Asalto had to overcome logistical obstacles as well as the fears of many to mount the outdoor exhibition this year, and we salute them for their fortitude and successes.
A pioneer in public art festivals, Asalto celebrates its 15th year here in San José, in Zaragoza (Spain) with a lineup of very thoughtful artists. The intensity of 2020 and the toll it is taking on the countries of the world – is somehow reflected in the gentle dispositions of this year’s collection, who add their works to the 300 artists and works of art here. Organizers say the connection to the community is predicated on the organizing structure of the festival, which doesn’t decree what is good, but Asalto creates “a dialogue with neighbors who see art as something intimate and in the works they can see scenes in which they can be identified.”
This years Asalto 2020 line-up
includes artists Akacorleone, Diego Vicente,
Elbi Elem, Isaac Cordal, Karto Gimeno, Lida Cao, Marta Lapeña, Slim Safont,
Anna Taratiel, Sawu Studio and Aheneah.
Below are a few that we thought you would enjoy, along with brief descriptions of the artists directly from the Asalto organizers.
Lidia Cao. Festival Asalto. Zaragoza, Spain. Edition 15th/2020 (photo courtesy of Festival Asalto)
Lidia Cao: “The artist Lidia Cao gives us in a large mural those hugs that we have been missing in recent months. With great sensitivity to capture moments in all her works, Lidia Cao makes this gift to the neighborhood. As the artist says ‘A hug. An act as simple as it is difficult. We have seen how a world, in the blink of an eye, has become something completely distant.’ This is a hug of joy or comfort but always comforting and that has already become a symbol for all the people who see it every day in its wake.”
Elbi Elem. Festival Asalto. Zaragoza, Spain. Edition 15th/2020 (photo courtesy of Festival Asalto)
Elbi Elem: “The artist Elbi Elem has explored every corner of the area of Zaragoza where the Festival Asalto has been held to continue on her path of artistic research. Elbi Elem has used the possibilities of water and reflection to create installations that lead us to recognize the duality between balance and movement or the constant change in which we find ourselves.”
Isaac Cordal. Festival Asalto. Zaragoza, Spain. Edition 15th/2020 (photo courtesy of Festival Asalto)
Issaac Cordal: “The small figures that Isaac Cordal has placed in different parts of the San José neighborhood are part of his series, called Cement Eclipses. With this game he invites us to look for the works – he wants to draw attention to our behavior as a mass and the effects of the evolution of society. Isaac Cordal presents this intervention to us as a game and as a surprise, each encounter with one of the figures makes us wonder and question who we are.”
Isaac Cordal. Festival Asalto. Zaragoza, Spain. Edition 15th/2020 (photo courtesy of Festival Asalto)
Karto Gimeno: “Karto Gimeno makes his first foray into public art at the Asalto Festival and he did so by transferring his characteristic style to the large format: photography and almost scenographic installation.
With that style with which he captures the urban environment that surrounds us, Karto Gimeno wanted to bring to the people some characteristic buildings that surround the neighbourhood where Festival Asalto took place this year: abandoned and invaded by vegetation and humidity houses. Three large photographs located on the facades of the buildings become three new windows from which to look and recognize the past of an area that has forgotten its agricultural past.”
Karto Gimeno. Festival Asalto. Zaragoza, Spain. Edition 15th/2020 (photo courtesy of Festival Asalto)Karto Gimeno. Festival Asalto. Zaragoza, Spain. Edition 15th/2020 (photo courtesy of Festival Asalto)Marta Lapeña. Festival Asalto. Zaragoza, Spain. Edition 15th/2020 (photo courtesy of Festival Asalto)
Marta Lapeña: “In a large mural of five panels, the artist Marta Lapeña remembers the everyday life of the San José neighborhood of Zaragoza with some of the elements that represent its past: glass, ceramics, wheat and barley or the thread with which industrial tarpaulins were manufactured. The 50s and 60s saw the birth of a neighborhood that was born around the industry and now the artist wants to take us to that simplicity of workers’ homes with a figurative mural in which color takes us from one scene to another.”
Marta Lapeña. Festival Asalto. Zaragoza, Spain. Edition 15th/2020 (photo courtesy of Festival Asalto)
Slim Safont: “After meeting the neighbors of the building in which he was going to make his mural and walking the streets of the neighborhood capturing his life, the artist Slim Safont noticed a scene as everyday as it was loaded with a message; a slogan on a young girl’s shirt and a nursery in the background remind us of the future that lies ahead. And he does it with that technical skill that characterizes his work: almost photographic paintings that acquire texture as we get closer.”
Slim Safont. Festival Asalto. Zaragoza, Spain. Edition 15th/2020 (photo courtesy of Festival Asalto)
Akacorleone: “Akacorleone’s mural ‘ILUSIÓN’ is a set of vibrant colors halfway between abstraction and figuration. With this work, the Portuguese artist wants to defend the life and flourishing of the human being after experiencing difficult situations. As he said “my idea was to create something that simbolized the calm after the storm, something beautiful that can emerge from dark times”. Painted with the spray technique, the refined shapes that we appreciate in this work also lead us to a oneiric world.”
Akacorleone. Festival Asalto. Zaragoza, Spain. Edition 15th/2020 (photo courtesy of Festival Asalto)
Sawu Studio: With the challenge of transform into a new space a degraded -although widely used- square, the Sawu Studio team has built an ephemeral installation that claims play and meeting spaces for people. A large circle symbolizes that circle or safety space in which dialogue arises and which also protects the little ones.
The effect of light on wood turns four colors into an infinite palette that changes with the sun and the movement of those around it. With this installation, Sawu has managed to point out the need to humanize public spaces and respect them and has responded to the more than 300 surveys with which the neighborhood expressed its wishes towards the “nameless square”, the place where locate this facility.
Sawu Studio. Festival Asalto. Zaragoza, Spain. Edition 15th/2020 (photo courtesy of Festival Asalto)
Back in June, BSA published the first article on disCONNECT, a project created in London during the lockdown due to Covid-19. A collaboration between Schoeni Projects and HK Walls, disCONNECT involves the take over of a period building by 10 artists from different countries.
Disconnect “reflects on the creative and physical constraints of the current global crisis, exploring psychological and political reactions to the crisis, as well as the role of technology as conduit between the two.”
We’re pleased to bring you our final article on the project with images of the works of all 10 participating artists. For our previous coverage click HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.
Free Tickets for disCONNECT are now available. 24 July – 24 August, Wednesdays – Sundays. Hourly slots starting from 11am to 5pm, with a maximum of 8 people per slot. Please book below, we can’t wait to share this journey with you!
BROOKLYN STREET ART LOVES YOU MORE EVERY DAY
