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Art

Flying Ospreys, Herons, and Terns Comprise a 35-Meter Water Tower Mural by Taquen

A 35-meter tower looming over Gien, France, is the site of a new mural by Taquen that celebrates the inherent life-giving properties of water. Set against a deep blue backdrop, the massive artwork titled “Eau de Loire” features a flock of ospreys, herons, and common terns, which often are spotted near the banks of the Loire River that runs through the area, as they fly around the tank in an endless loop. “Water has always been synonymous with life,” the Madrid-based artist says, noting that the source is as vital to the city’s inhabitants as it is the region’s wildlife.

Broadly focused on change, Taquen’s works explore the complex relationships species have with each other and the larger environment, a recurring theme that manifests in this recent project through the birds’ perpetual motion. “For me, movement is a basic form of knowledge, to get to know myself and my environment and learn to respect it,” he says. “Birds are great symbols of freedom, animals that migrate thousands of kilometers each year with no one who can stop them.”

Taquen just completed a piece in Vigo, Galicia and is headed to Camprovin, La Rioja, Spain next. In September, he’ll be at Mostar Street Art Festival in Bosnia and Eternelles Crapules at Briançon, France, before heading to a residency in Saint Palais and later to Bayona. Follow along his travels on Instagram. (via Street Art News)

 

Art

Lush Tropical Plants Sprout from Brightly Colored Murals by Thiago Mazza

In his brilliantly hued murals, Brazilian artist Thiago Mazza recreates the dense foliage and thick, fleshy petals he encounters in tropical forests and other verdant areas. Prickly thistles, striped leaves, and seemingly endless varieties of flowers spring up in wild masses that crawl down sidewalks and engulf entire buildings.

In a note to Colossal, Mazza shares that all of his large-scale projects start with a carefully arranged photograph of the flora he finds during his forest excursions. “When I photograph the compositions with real plants, I do under a strong natural light so I can capture the light and the shadow, the contrast that I search in my compositions,” he says. The resulting works bring the otherwise remote plants to urban areas, transforming stark facades into lush gardens celebrating nature’s diversity.

Based in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil, Mazza is currently painting an installation in the middle of a field as part of a residency at Campidarte in Sardinia, which rounds out a months-long expedition around Europe where he completed murals in Sintra, Lisbon, and Civitacampomarano. Keep an eye on his Instagram for his upcoming works, which are slated for Foz do Iguaçu, Tbilsi, and Madrid this fall. (via Street Art News)

 

Art Craft

A Dreamy Fiber Installation by Vanessa Barragão Transforms a Medieval Bridge into a Patch of Oversized Orchids

In the small town of Paderne, Portugal, a whimsical valance of crocheted leaves, dangling tendrils, and petals dyed with subtle gradients encircles the stone archways of a battered medieval bridge. Titled “Algarvensis,” the dreamy installation is by Portuguese artist Vanessa Barragão, who’s known for her large-scale textured tapestries that recreate landscapes and gardens with tufted fibers. The bowed entanglement recreates oversized orchids native to the region with wool from nearby sheep and recycled yarn, resin, and other materials in a celebration of the local environment where the artist spent much of her childhood.

“Algarvensis,” which the municipality of Albufeira commissioned to help elevate the Geoparque Algarvensis to the status of a Worldwide UNESCO Geoparque, will be up until September 12, and you can the process and installation behind the piece on Barragão’s Instagram.

 

Art

Immersive Installations by Liz West Convert Spaces into Glowing Arenas of Prismatic Light

Whether nestling an iridescent tunnel inside a Georgian-style church or encircling a concrete walkway with multicolor ribbons, Liz West transforms whatever space she approaches into a dynamic field of kaleidoscopic light and shadow. The prolific British artist (previously) is known for her large-scale pieces that use reflection and refraction to create dazzling immersive environments. Often utilizing translucent panels and a combination of natural light and LEDs, West’s intention is to enhance sensory awareness, showing the potential the full spectrum of color has to impact both psychological and physical reactions.

On view through August 21 at Canary Wharf in London, “Hymn to the Big Wheel” (shown above)  is an architectural installation comprised of two concentric octagons that cast layered jewel-toned shadows depending on the viewer’s position. The piece draws its name from Massive Attack’s “Hymn Of The Big Wheel” and has what West calls a “sun-dial effect” that changes how the light streams through the panels depending on the time of day.

Other recent projects include “Aglow,” which arranged 169 fluorescent bowls in a hexagon outside of the Musee Nissim de Camondo in Paris. The individual elements were designed to catch rainfall, which once pooled in the base, added an extra layer of color and illusion to the patterned grouping. Similarly deceptive is West’s 2021 piece titled “Presence” at Christ Church in Macclesfield, which produced an obscured and prismatic path through the historic site that presented the existing architecture through the lens of colorful panels.

West is currently working on two permanent installations launching in August and September in Salford, while “Hundreds and Thousands” (shown below) will be taken down this fall. You can follow her vibrant constructions on her site and Instagram.

 

Art Illustration

A Trio of Colorful Characters Expand Jean Jullien's Installation in a Nantes Botanical Garden

Three new faces join the quirky cast of characters at Nantes’s Jardin des Plantes. Part of artist Jean Jullien’s Filili Viridi project that’ll be on view through November, the colorful trio is spotted reclining in the grass, perched in a tree, and plunged in a small reservoir. Joyful and slightly mischievous, the new additions, which are made of painted steel, join six others that have been hanging out in the botanical garden since last summer. See more of Jullien’s illustrated ensembles on Instagram, and pick up a poster in his shop.

 

Art

A Mythical Stencil Mural by MonkeyBird Is a Monumental Homage to Burgos Cathedral

A guardian angel in the form of a grey heron watches over an allegorical mural at Burgos Cathedral in Spain. Painted by Louis Boidron and Edouard Egea, who work as MonkeyBird (previously), “Mymesis, beings and places” is an homage to the artworks and design of the church, which UNESCO designated a World Heritage site back in 1984 in part because it captures the evolution of gothic architecture: construction on the building began in 1221 and wasn’t complete until 1567, meaning it showcases the entire history of the style.

Translating many of the religious symbols and motifs found inside, the duo combines the cathedral’s profound history with its signature stenciled aesthetic and recurring monkey and bird creatures. The resulting mural is a dense display of ornate structural elements, airborne birds called papamoscas cerrojillo that typically nest in the building, and a gilded clock from the 18th Century. “Our intention was to offer an effect of complex depth and monumentalism, combining some of the most spectacular references of the temple, such as the main altarpiece, with its many details, the Golden Staircase, or the circular oculus in the center of Santa María façade,” MonkeyBird says.

Head to Instagram to see more of “Mymesis, begins and places” and to follow the duo’s projects and occasional print releases.