CCC's Street Art Contest #295 "An Opening in a Sea of Marble" - Regg Salgado, Ajuda, Portugal

Good morning, friends!

Welcome to another post in the Street Art community!

Last week, even though I entered the weekly CCC’s Street Art Contest organized by digi-me, I didn’t share my entry in a comment on their post.

This week, that won’t happen! 😁

Two weeks ago, I shared a piece of work by the multifaceted street artist Regg Salgado in this very community (link). This week, I’ll be posting photos of another piece of his painted in the same neighborhood, from the same year.

This work, titled “An Opening in a Sea of Marble,” brings certain ideas to the surface. In it, the artist combines and unites two worlds, two universes, and two distinct realities. At the top, occupying that position due to his importance to society, is the Marquis of Pombal, a statesman who served as Secretary of State as well as Prime Minister and played a key role in various reforms—the most renowned of which was the reconstruction of Lisbon following the devastating earthquake of 1755.

Ajuda is an area known for its stately, very old mansions and numerous government buildings, which predominantly feature marble as their exterior stone. One of these days, I plan to visit the Ajuda Palace so I can share a bit of its uniqueness here.

Set against the backdrop of these buildings, one of the neighborhoods in Ajuda—where this artwork was installed—stands out as a true highlight within the surrounding landscape.

The artist sought to highlight these differences in a more original way, combining the stone bust of the Marquis of Pombal, which crowns the artwork and is surrounded by pomegranates—a symbol of royalty— and at the bottom, a pair of hands with skin darker than the “marble,” which refers to the races and multiculturalism of the area—Africans and Roma—who inhabit the homes of this social housing neighborhood.

In the background, an onion cut in half appears as a simple element that might represent the various layers that exist, and the fact that we cannot assume what we see on the outside is what lies “inside.” On the tattoos on the arms resting on a sheet, we can read the word “blessed,” as well as a rosary on the left wrist.

At the top, the white of the torso against a dark background marked by pomegranates, and below, a pair of dark-skinned hands against a white background...

A striking piece of art, indeed! And one that doesn’t leave anyone indifferent who passes through that neighborhood.

I’d like to take this opportunity to ask how your week went. I still haven’t gotten back into the swing of things, and I’ve got some work piling up. Today I have to take my car to the mechanic to get the lock on one of the doors fixed—it won’t open from the outside. The car needs to stay there all day, and since I work the afternoon shift, I can’t pick it up after work because the shop will definitely be closed by then. I’ll have to commute to work and back using public transportation (train and bus). Anyone who follows my posts and reads what I share from time to time knows that the public transportation I most enjoy using is the train. Whether it’s the commuter train or those with longer routes that cover greater distances and average higher speeds.

But today is expected to be particularly challenging in terms of ridership and service quality for these two transit operators, as a general strike has been called by Lisbon Metro workers, and there is no guarantee—I’m not sure if the government didn’t request it or if it isn’t mandatory—of minimum service levels. Even though I don’t need to go into the city center—since I work in a more outlying area than the central avenues—this strike will certainly disrupt other services, as they will see higher-than-average ridership. I’ll make sure to charge my wireless headphones and my cell phone, so that if the trains are completely packed with people and I can’t read a book, I can at least listen to an interesting podcast to help me make the most of my commute.

The weekend is just around the corner! Enjoy it, if you get the chance.

Cheers to all, and see you soon!

Bem Hajam🍀