GRAFFITI FOR PEACE. Part 1

From last 21st until next 24th of december, four Spanish graffiti writers; YUBIA, MUSA, DEN and MAKOH, are demonstrating their talent with the aerosol can at a very important and necessary event. WOMEN ARTISTS FOR PEACE is an initiative from the ‘Mujeres Artistas’ (Female Artists) platform, which fights gender violence, demonstrated by this first International Graffiti for Peace Competition in the city of Belen. The theme of the event is made concrete in the fact that the work will be done on the Israeli ‘Wall of Shame’.

Montana Colors is a collaborating company in this action supporting peace.

MUSA will keep us updated on how things are going with a travel diary. To start with, here’s today’s article.

“Belen; 8 in the morning, more or less. It’s not cold, but we’re out of sorts; Den, Yubia, Makoh, and I. The passing night took its toll on the group; 78 people who travelled to our destination on two buses from Tel-Aviv. The plan was to begin painting the opening wall right after eating. So, armed with our paint, we looked for a spot to paint the head banner, with the logos of the companies, and the slogan for peace in the Palestine town. In the end, we decided on a watch tower and began work at about 4 pm.”

“At first, the feeling was that of oppression. The wall must have been about 8 or 10 meters high, and up to about 3 meters was covered with multiple languages, expressing, from what we could understand, radical statements, one on top of the other, to the point of each one losing its meaning.”

“The tower is found at a crossroads, and the traffic doesn’t stop for even a second. People greeted us from cars, some saying something nice, others throwing us some silly comment. The Israeli soldiers didn’t bother us much. Every now and again they threw their cigarette butts down from above, but nothing more. After a while we forgot where we were, and just painted until we had finished.”

“Afterwards, we went to take a look at the pieces they had done the year before, and then we realized just how immense the wall is. It’s like living in a fish bowl, or something. It’s a presence which seems to be continually observing you. I once heard that someone who needs to protect themselves doesn’t realize that they are cutting themselves off, but I guess that this doesn’t mean much to anyone living here.”

“Tomorrow we’ll continue painting the wall…”

Text: Musa. Pictures: Mambanegra.