Brazilian muralists in Scotland :-)

Murals, murals, murals... in my mind (and on my retinas) huge scale impressively designed and beautifully painted murals are a common thread running through South American cities. :-)

The Chile I got to know seemed FULL of murals, Santiago and Valparaíso so especially so that when I got to Cochabamba in Bolivia the walls seemed less painted, though once my eyes adjusted (like when you go from bright light into a dark room and it takes a while for your eyes to calibrate) I began noticing their art.  Having had an eye on Graffitimundo's site since last year in London, I was excitedly prepared for the bountiful art on Buneos Aires' walls and now here in Florianopolis a key part of familiarising myself with the city and settling in has been graffiti-spotting.

In one of my Portuguese classes Dayane and I were chatting about the different perceptions towards graffiti and the ongoing art/ crime debate  that I was surprised to hear is also thrashed out here in Brazil. I've always had the impression that Latin American countries are far more supportive of graffiti and muralism, and whenever I'm looking through collections of photos of graffiti it seems that a huge number of muralists are Latin American.   But I guess understandably, as with any art form, graffiti is not to the taste of everyone, and taking into account scale, murals are not exactly easy to ignore if there is one that a neighbour dislikes and has to look out their window at every day.  Personally, as someone who loves graffiti but is very specific in what styles I enjoy or not, I still appreciate styles that are not to my taste for their power to brighten up ugly spots or give new life to abandoned spaces.



I was fascinated to learn from Dayane about the case of Kelburn Castle, an old castle in Fairlie, North Ayrshire in Scotland which was painted by four Brazilian graffiti artists in 2007, provoking huge controversy within Scotland despite the owners having the permission of Historic Scotland.  Some folk objected to the idea of an old historic landmark being 'vandalised' by graffiti (even though the castle was in disrepair at the time and in need of renovation).

The four Brazilian artists were 'Os Gêmeos', twin brothers Gustavo and Otavio Pandolfo from São Paola, Brazil (whose work I recognise from books!), 'Nina', or Nina Pandolfo, married to one of the twins, and 'Nunca' also from São Paolo.   They were invited to paint the castle by its owners, sister and brother Alice Boyle and Lord Glasgow David Boyle, and lived alongside them in the castle throughout the month-long proscess of painting, documented in this time-lapse video, (raindrops and all!):

Personally, I love the idea of the castle being painted, but I do have questions in my mind as I look at the designs about how much was created in collaboration with Scottish artists.  I'd love to visit the castle  when I'm back in the UK to have a closer look at the details to see how much the Brazilian imagery I recognise in the familiar work of these fours artists has been mixed with Scottish imagery relating to the building's geographical and historical context.  The castle's website does say the project was realised in collaboration with local artists, and so I've just written them an email inquiring as to the details of the process, and to ask about the plan for when the current paint starts to fade and peel.  I wonder whether the plan will be to retouch the existing design, or if they will follow the more organic street style of overlaying the existing imagery with fresh designs by other artists? (and a small day-dreaming voice in my mind wonders, 'ooh, will their one day be an opportunity for someone like me to collaborate in a project the scale of this one.. what a crossroads of threads!)

Nothing resists time.

These questions are particularly interesting in the context of an article that a friend directed my attention to recently (thank you Siobhan!!) that asks the question "Are we allowing great works of art to disintegrate', referencing a number of significant British murals that are quietly fading away, or being lost when old buildings are replaced with new.   The article mentions a recent conference in London on the topic and an exhibition at the Fine Art Society of the 'best of British mural art from 1920 to 1970'.  I'm a little ashamed to say, as someone who so loves to spot murals, that I was surprised by the term and concept of  'British mural art'.

When I think of British street art I immediately picture images of course from Baksy and then of Roa, who is in fact Beligium, and Blu, who I've recently been told is Argentinian from BsAs.  I think of London's 'graffiti tunnel' (otherwise known as Leake Street) where these artists and more international graffiti artists gathered in 2008 and filled the tunnel with incredible art pieces, stimulating an interesting debate about the role of graffiti as an art form, creating a space where to this day it is legal to paint the walls (a safe space to practise spinning fire-poi too - hey Hel?!) and prompting local art teachers to bring their students into the space to create their own tags alongside these internationally recognised artists.  What a liberating concept, for an art student to be able to come into a space, admire the work of recognised artists, hero artists, and rather than to be scolded 'don't touch', to be invited and encouraged to create their own work alongside.  How equalising. Brilliant!

 I've spotted many of these camera-wielding lads pasted on the walls of Floripa, spotting me spotting them.  This sticker pasted of one of them: 'AQUIPODIATERPOESIA' (you could have poetry here) intrigued me and on getting back to the house I looked up their webpage and was delighted to find a series of posts about street art and autonomous poetic gatherings :-)

So thinking of 'British street art' I am perhaps slightly London-biased in what first springs to mind.  The other areas I think of are Northern Irish political murals, which I learned a little about last year in watching a documentary on i-player about the fascinating project "I am here" that was a collaboration between London teenagers in Deptford and Northern Irish muralists, and a real testament to the power of mural art to give a platform to otherwise unheard voices.

Respect my tears greatly, but even more, my laughter....

So to hear of the exhibition dedicated to British murals and of this graffiti project at Kelburn Castle I am really excited to think that we may be on the brink of a revival (or continuation?) of large scale muralism in the UK.

Bring it on!

:-)