Illustration in Porto Part 2
In case you missed part 1 you can find it here. Porto was a wonderful place for spotting amazing illustrations around the city. They appear in many different formats. Some are painted directly onto the wall or door space, some are created onto paper and then glued on and some are collaged or sculptured.
Obviously some of the work is commissioned to hide an ugly wall or to create drama and draw the attention to an area, like a restaurant or concert hall (as below).
Other pieces maybe purely decorative, political or have personal meanings to the artist themselves.
This 3-d sculpture was hidden in the back streets among the Port and Wine distilleries, across the river from Porto’s main town. Very commanding and I thought it’s half monotone /half colour idea worked very well using the corner of the house as a line to divide the two.
Another artist “Hazul” had work all over the city.
Again their distinctive style of swirling shapes and curvy lines caught my eye and made the work stand out as something different.
Some of the illustrations are glued on, using computer printouts or collage effects to create a ‘propoganda’ or retro quality to the work.
These were everywhere.
Amusing famous figures with grassy beards.
Whether it’s a painted train mural or a much more contemporary frozen food shop… illustration is key in telling a story and decorating a public space.
Illustration can even be set in stone ! Future posts to come about the design, ceramics and architecture in and around Porto.
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