Berta chose the word « Espiritualidad » (Spirituality).
She told me that she wanted to choose a word that is deep and compatible with every religion.
She is catholic but there are different sorts of christians in the neighbourhood as well as muslims and jews in the rest of the city.
I struggled to find a way of fitting such a long word on an almost square wall. I went for a layout that highlights this font which I drew a few weeks ago.
Aray chose the word Humildad (Humility).
She told me that no matter who you are or where you live, staying humble is essential in order to live in harmony with those around us.
This piece is a collab with Venezuelan artist Dagor .
Not only is he a very respected artist here in Venezuela, but he’s also keen on sharing his work in some of the most unprivileged neighbourhoods of Caracas. In 10 years of painting in slums around the world, he’s the only artist whose work I have seen on the walls before I started painting.
We’d been talking about collaborating for a while as our styles are compatible and our perception of public art very similar.
This is the first wall I’ve painted with another artist on Share The Word Project . It was an honour and I’m very happy with the result! Gracias mi pana!
Emily, 17 years old, chose the word “Amor” (Love).
She told me that the word was chosen for her mother who’s the person who loves her the most. Her mum gets up early to go to work in central Caracas to be able to feed her and almost everything she does is for her.
I became friends with Emily 4 years ago when I first came here to Petare. I taught her how to paint and she helped me on all my murals. This time again, Emily is one of our best helpers and I’m very proud to see that she hasn’t forgotten anything I taught her!
Gladys chose the word “Paz” (Peace).
Although Venezuela isn’t at war, she hopes that more peaceful times are ahead.
These last 10 years Venezuela has been going through a huge financial crisis that has affected Venezuelans in every way possible, including of course safety. Things have gotten a little better these last few years, but gang-related violence is still part of life here.
Yony, 48 years old, chose the word “Pasión”.
He’s a taxi driver who’s been driving an old jeep for the past 23 years. He told me life is to be lived with passion, and one should be passionate about everything one does.
I had this idea of painting his wall with thousands of dots on coloured backgrounds. I only used 6 colours including white but the dots placed on different backgrounds create new colours and an interesting texture. Now when I close my eyes all I see is dots. I certainly put a lot of passion into this mural!
Seb Toussaint 