Large-scale murals of some of the animal kingdom’s most recognizable faces peer out from the streets in Eastern Europe from Estonia to Germany, and many other international locations. Life-like urban sculptures of wolves, raccoons, and reptiles are brought to new heights with touches of realism and three dimensionality. Lisbon-born artist, Bordalo II, makes each animal in acute detail using found detritus to create a public installation.
Advertisement
Bordalo II possesses a nimble hand at conveying depth in his work and an active qualtiy to his mural subjects. The shining attribute of each of his pieces are the oversized eyes with beady gazes. The onlooking faces of each of Bordalo II’s pieces are heightened by their size as each eyeball is the size of a high-rise window.The animal street art series has a message behind it. Bordalo II shares with The Creators Project how he wants to draw attention to superfluous materialism, saying his art work "aims to draw attention to a current problem that is likely to be forgotten, become trivial or a necessary evil. The problem [is] waste production, materials that are not reused, pollution, and its effect on the planet.”
“The idea is to depict nature itself, in this case animals, out of materials that are responsible for its destruction.” The artist continues, “These works are built with end-of-life materials: the majority found in wastelands, abandoned factories or some are obtained from companies that are going through a recycling process. Damaged bumpers, burnt garbage cans, tires and appliances are just some of the objects that can be identified when you go into detail. They are camouflaging the result of our habits with little ecological and social awareness.”
ONE EMAIL. ONE STORY. EVERY WEEK. SIGN UP FOR THE VICE NEWSLETTER.
By signing up, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy & to receive electronic communications from Vice Media Group, which may include marketing promotions, advertisements and sponsored content.
