A new joint mural from LAPIZ and Elmar Karla as the newly formed “Thealang Collective”. Both formerly living in Argentina, the two artists have distinctly different styles to combine here in a scene from a fever dream in Hamburg, Germany.

And what a hot steamy shape-shifting surrealist diarama this is on a backyard wall in St. Pauli, full of fire and raging destruction and ultimately, deception, with the main character called EL CUCO.

The combination of cut stencils and fluidly brushed paint, the two say that El Cuco is a mystical creature who steals the souls of innocent children.  The Wikipedia entry says “El Cuco is a mythical ghost–monster, equivalent to the bogeyman, found in many Hispanophone and Lusophone countries.”

“The mural portrays the impact of today’s society,” they tell us as we gaze upon these exclusive shots, “the eternally growing economy is symbolized by the donations for the partially destroyed Notre Dame, and its effect is one of constantly destroying the environment, here symbolized by the burning green lung – the Amazon Rainforest.”

It’s fearfully treacherous, this adventurous scene mixing childhood myths and fun-loving characters who appear out of context under a sky of flames, Its an amalgam of the imaginations and experiences of the two –Elmar Karla’s painted characters from the comic world and the stencil techniques of Lapiz, who often likes to take a jab at socio-political themes.

Both members of Thealang have painted extensively internationally and have participated in festivals and exhibitions such as the Ibug, Meeting of Styles, Grenoble Street Art Fest and at the Street Art Museum Amsterdam.

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