STREET ART #62 - Graffiti revealed after dark (Spain)

When the shutters are pulled down over the shop windows a new world is revealed for those who are passing the windows at night. The graffiti is creating a completely new look of the city. Another way of seeing graffiti which is hidden during the day is to walk the streets after dark or early in the morning.

Last December I was in Spain and visited both Granada and Malaga. To my great delight, these two cities have impressive street art. Many well-known local and international artists have contributed. What I didn't know was that the shop shutters also have beautiful graffiti.

My street art walk in Granada started around 9 o'clock in the morning. I was heading straight for the Realejo area, which is the area where most street art is found. I wanted to find the works done by Raúl Ruiz also known as «El Niño de las Pinturaz» («the child of paintings»). Ruiz is the city's most prolific artist and this is the area which contains most murals done by him.

As soon as we started to walk into the Realejo, it didn't take long before we saw the first pieces of art, done on shutters on the shop fronts. Usually the shutters just look dull and grey when shut, but now they are beautifully decorated. Many shops and businesses have actively encouraged artist to paint their shutters.

By the time we started our walk many of the shops hadn't opened yet. Because the shops would be open when we were ready to return, we took time to stop and look at them as we passed.

This shutter is beautifully painted by Ruiz who an international well known graffiti- and award winning artist. He is often compared to London's famous artist Banksy. I believe he also has his home in Realejo. His murals are easily recognized. Many of his paintings have som lettering that spell out some stanzas written on the murals.

A few days later we came to Malaga where we also did an early morning walk throug the area named Soho. Compared to the historical center across one of the main streets, Soho looks neglected. Many of the houses are abandoned. Walking this area in the morning through empty streets were a little scary....

Still, Soho is a pretty remarkable place to walk around an early morning. The streets were almost empty. All the shops hadn't opened yet. That gave us a great oportunity to discover the graffiti on the shop shutters. If we had been a few hours later, many of the shops would have been open and we would never have known what the shutters are hiding.

If you want to see as much as possible be sure to visit when the shops are closed because the artists in many Spanish cities have taken advantage of painting on the shutters. Great way of making the streets attractive outside opening hours.