At times like this, when I don't have any fresh, new, amazing murals that I've come across recently, I like to look into some mural pics I took a while back. Like this one. I don't know why I never posted it, though I remember I was excited when I first saw this admittedly strange pic.
Old Times? Mennonites? Or Simply Rural Mexico?
It was a good two years ago that I found this painting on the shutters of a store in the center of Mexico City. To be exact, it's on the corner of the República de Brasil and República de Honduras streets, and the shop is a men's clothing store. Since I don't really frequent in that area, and the place happened to be closed while I was there, I could only guess what kinds of clothes they may have to offer... But as far as the image is concerned, it makes the cold run down my back.
It even took me a while to figure out why, since the image doesn't even feature anything too spooky. It's a man and a woman walking on some dirt road in the country. He is in fact wearing what you would expect most men in rural Mexico to wear: A collared shirt and a short jacket of leather or jeans, matching pants, and a broad rimmed hat. The woman's clothes seem to fall into the same stereotype, though for some reason they are less distinct and colorful than they would be in real life. This could be because the image is trying to match the supply of the store, catering mainly to male clients.
So what is it that bothered me so much about this mural? Is it the violently red sky, matching the fiery red plants in the field? Is it the fact that the woman is walking behind the man, reduced to being his accessory, and failing even at that? Or could it be the vastness of the image, suggesting some eerie "things have always been, and will be forever" static notion of our world?
Seeing this old photo makes me want to revisit the place, and maybe see whether the store feeds into this suggested image when it is open. Though at the same time, chances are the mural is long gone and the store closed. Neither option would surprise me.
This time the artist is clearly visible, and can be found instantly. It is Miguel Garcia Villafaña a.k.a. lerk_uno. Please visit his page, as he seems to have painted many more (and much more impressive) murals. This post is my submission to this week's CCC's Street Art Contest #125, where you can see amazing street art from all over the world. For more cool Mexican street art, check out my ongoing series Mexican Murals.