What a difference three months make, part B. And saving the Arctic through art.

As promised, in this post, I’ll show you the differences I found between the same spots, with a three month break in between.

The only difference is that the final photos in this post are taken from one of the Murs Lliures, which can be found on an entire city block, bordered by the streets Veneçuela, Agricultura, Josep Pla, and Pallars, a bit closer to the Selva de Mar metro station on the yellow line. Many of these pictures seem to follow the theme of climate change, and its effects on the arctic ecosystems, as the hashtags suggest. One of the principal artists involved in the effort is Pau Lopez, whose facebook page can be found here. And here is an interesting article  on the initiative from our friends at Brooklyn Street Art.

 

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Angry cat over layers of tags

This is another shot from the Poblenou neighborhood. This wall was once the corner of a factory that was demolished into a large dusty parking lot and community garden. This angry looking cat slapped atop what are at least three or four layers of tags is one of two walls; a corner for a room that no longer exists. On the other side of this wall the corner is filled with the green and brown glass of broken beer bottles and fragments of brick and mortar. I like to imagine that maybe the “owner” of this property commissioned the cat to be painted in an attempt to keep out intruders, after the 30 cm concrete barriers proved inadequate protection. Seems the cat, so far has been effective in keeping the taggers away, but not so for “IRINA”.

Poblenou, the new village

Today I decided to check out the neighborhood of Poblenou (literally, New Village). Once known as the Catalan Manchester, Poblenou boasts a number of old factories surrounded by a small cluster of buildings nearby. These buildings make up a labyrinthine mini-town, a stark contrast to the rest of L’Eixample with its large cornerless city block structure. Within the residential areas I didn’t find very much in the way of art, though it seems the neighborhood was either getting ready for or cleaning up after their summer festival.
As I hit the fringes of the small, squat homes, I found a series of gardens where old factories once stood, only a few crumbling walls remained. It was on these walls where I found some fantastic, colorful images, some partially eaten away or covered. The image presented here was found on a small side street near some factories which have been converted into offices or design studios. I look forward to taking more time to see what else lies hidden in this delicious example of urban decay.

This almost reminds me of the Mouth of Truth in Rome.