Quite by accident, although there may not be coincidences, it so happened that I went to Cartagena a week ago. Alone, though usually I rarely travel alone. I took my son to a nearby town for his personal reasons and left him there, and I decided to have my day off to myself. A whole day adventure in a city I haven't visited yet. I was impressed with the city and the things I saw, I visited museums where the rich history of the city is visible through all the archaeological sites, starting from the second century BC, excavations from the time of the Roman Empire, the huge Roman theatre, the remains of the palace to the Roman gods and much more. Old city centre, where huge reconstruction work would be needed, then the new part of the city, harbour... all this in some +35 degrees Celsius. Maybe in some near future a publication on that topic will come, but today another kind of open museum will be shown. Street art and graffiti of Cartagena, Spain.
I set the GPS to take me to a marked official parking lot in the city centre, I didn't want to risk looking for parking on the streets in a city I don't know. But, in one wide boulevard, while I was waiting at the traffic light to get the green light, I saw a side street where I could turn into as I saw some free parking spaces. I decided on this option, also because from that place I could reach the Roman theatre in 5 minutes, which I wanted to visit. That quiet street that I decided on showed me its beauty in full glory. The whole wall was full of graffiti, more precisely some of the drawings you see in the first two photos were in that street.
But that was just the beginning. As I started walking, I saw more and more murals in that part of the city. These animals found themselves in that street from where I set out on my adventure. How I liked the drawing of this horse.
Ah, and look at this sweet raccoon. Isn't he beautiful? Also, this animal that I think is a fox and a pelican next to it. If I am wrong about which animal is in question, feel free to correct me.
I tried to find information about the artists who drew these murals. What I found was that it was a project Come Back, by Kraser, where 14 artists participated. Some of them were Pel1, Goyo 203, Nels, Velina Lobris, Best, Art Mateo, The Rayajos, Kraser... The event took place on June 13, 2020. There is a video that shows a bit the atmosphere how went that day:
I didn't take a photo of each different graffiti, there were too many. However, in the following images, you can see all of those that captured my attention in that same street... A very long wall, that was the base for those murals and graffiti, we can conclude :)
A little further on, on the other side of the street, from the wall of a tall building, a tiger was looking at me. Of course, I didn't have to be afraid of him, he was peaceful and invited me to get closer. Even two birds lay quietly in front of him. The inscription says that he arrived on this wall in the year 2019 and that his name is Tiger from the Desert. However, later I found a different information, that it is mural from 2016. The author is again, Kraser. He is an artist from Cartagena, but living now in Milan. The technique used here is acrylic enamel and spray on the wall. Work created at One Urban World (OUW) - Festival de Arte Emergente Mucho Más Mayo.
Leaving this street behind, I went to the city centre. A visit to the museum, the ruins of the Roman theatre, the old centre... And of course, again I saw some beautiful drawings on the walls. This time, irresistibly reminded me of distant history, fitting into the whole atmosphere of the former Roman Empire that flourished here.
Vanitas:
Authors of this mural: Torregar, Salvador Torres and Kraser. Technique: Acrylic enamels on wall. Location: C / Cuesta de la Baronesa. Year: 2016. Work created in the Sweet Dreams 1.1 project for The Night of the Museums of Cartagena.
This deconstruction was a process that ranged from realistic painting (Torregar), through surreal and dreamlike painting (Kraser), to graphic and conceptual art (Salvador Torres). The three artists carried out the intellectual and plastic disassembly of the Greco-Roman canon on a wall, based on the profile of a classical head. It was a clear nod to the Roman Theater of Cartagena, which is a few meters from that wall.
source of the information
Dolphin House:
Authors: Sealtres and Kraser. Technique: Acrylic enamels and sprays on the wall. Year: 2018. Work created in the Sweet Dreams 1.3 project for The Night of the Museums of Cartagena.
Located in a site steeped in history, where the room of the Byzantine Wall is located, this mural is between the figurative derived from Greco-Roman sculpture and volumetric abstraction, thus generating a narrative between classical art and the latest contemporary trends.
source of the information
Still in the old part of the city, there was a very long street, that is not in very good shape. It will need a complete reconstruction, many buildings have only a facade, and the back of the building has been demolished. It can be seen that it used to be a part of the city with small shops and workshops. Now there are only memories of it. This seemed interesting to me because it is a craft shop for making instruments.
Luthier:
In my further walks, I also encountered some other murals. The next one was this long wall, but I did not come any closer. I just took this one photo across the street. Of course, I searched again for some information. It is a mural that was created in 2017, and has various authors. It was created as part of the Urban CT Fest project.
Not far from the previous one, I again came across a building with one beautiful wall. The title of this mural is Ununoctio & Gossypium Tomentosum. The author of it is Fabio Petani and the used technique: Acrylic enamel on wall. It was created in 2018, as a part of One Urban World. Nice work to bring nature into the urban area, isn't it?
At the very last few steps I made in the pavements of Cartagena, when I reached the street where I have parked my car, there was a sports centre and you guess, the walls of it were painted. Representing some of the activities you can find and practice there, those murals confirmed to me that in Cartagena everything can be represented in murals and graffiti.
