As illegal Street Art morphed into legal murals we began to witness the entry of formally trained artists and professionals who not only abandoned the politically charged or socially challenging themes in favor of pleasant topics and commercial aesthetics but accidentally launched an arms race for the biggest, tallest, widest walls possible.

Soon the descriptions we received about new artist works shifted from discussions on themes and messages to statistics about square meters covered, the number of stories high the building was, and how many cans or gallons of paint were required to finish it.

Spanish artist, designer, and photographer Octavi Serra would like a larger wall please. The one that Contorno Urbano gave him for their 11^th mural this year in Barcelona seems dreadfully small, and he has really big ideas. He calls this mural “Insufficient”.

Serra says his work often “focuses on capturing the irony, truisms and frustrations of modern life,” and while this piece is evidently meant to be tongue in cheek, he is tapping into a general sense of dissatisfaction that is part of a materialistic culture, and part of the human condition.

By letting the typography bleed off the edges, you also sense the claustrophobic feelings that are playing with the artists mind. “There is this feeling of never being completely satisfied even though reason argues that we should be,” he says. “There is this desire to always have more, which make the road impossible to enjoy.”

The mural is part of the 12 + 1 public mural project of Barcelona – at the Civic Center Cotxeres Borrell. Before the end of the year they are planning a collective exhibition where works by all the artists who have participated in the edition of the 12 + 1 2019 Barcelona project will be on display. The show will feature artists Jay Visual, Ivan Floro, Margalef, Anna Taratiel, Nuria Toll, Flavita Banana, Cristina Lina, Degon, Mr. Sis, Cristina Daura, Laia and Octavi Serra.

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