I keep having to outdo myself with these comps. It seems like a lot of people like them and they do make a big chunk of rewards so, I try to excel on finding great pieces and make these comps longer and with more pics each time. This time I bring you 62 pieces from Mexico city.
Mexico city is the city in Mexico (and who knows, maybe in the world) with the most graffiti both in pieces and in diversity. From commissions asked by bohemian style businesses in the posh areas of the city, to monochromatic and meaningless scribbles in dark alleys where not even cops dare to venture, Mexico city has probably tens of thousands of graffities.
I wish I could share them all with you, but to be honest, I only capture those I encounter while doing other stuff, I don't actively go street art hunting in Mexico city - I do go graffiti hunting in the nearby towns and where it's safer to just start an odyssey without knowing where you are or where you are going - I just snap these pics once a month when I go to the city for business.
I have been getting in touch with some of these artists and, while some of them don't even reply, a few have showed some interest about Hive and the content creation that goes around here. Most of the street artists are definitely not potential Hive investors, but they can contribute to our ecosystem by sharing their art process and engaging in the artistic communities.
I hope that over the next few weeks I can show them what Hive is about and you guys give them a warm welcome!
As you can see, some of the pieces have usernames so, what I do is search for them on Instagram, Twitter or DeviantArt and I try to get in touch with them by sending them a picture of their art and telling them how good it is and how much I like it, to sort of break the ice without inviting them to be part of an obscure and shady internet money scam on top of a social media website.
When they only have a name, just like the one above, I google it and try my luck, most of the times this doesn't pay off because these artists are not that well known online.
It's fun to see how even in temporary walls such as this one that was improvised as a sort of fence around a construction site, Mexicans find a way to give some color and life to the grey and white aluminum walls. As you can see, although these are not monochromatic nonsensical scribbles and they don't look that bad, these were made in a hurry most likely at night by some guetto-like person. In fact, some of these scribbles are gang messages and there are walls where several messages are sent (or written) on top of each other.
I went to a bar that evening and wow, people just find a way to stamp their graffities everywhere and you know what? I like it, it gives the place a chill, very Mexican and sort of bohemian and hippy kind of vibe.
I really liked this demon - oh yeah it is a demon - on fire, maybe cause of his music or perhaps because of the hot weather in Mexico. Either way, notice the teeth, the upside down cross hanging from his neck, the cat-like eyes and the comfort among flames. Definitely a demon, not to mention his 4 limbs to be able to rock and roll and at the same time play the drums.
I have the feeling this piece was made by the same artist that made the second picture of this very same post. It is not signed so who knows, I will only find out if and when the author replies to me. They are pretty close to each other but this one is older but, if you take a good look you'll see the style and form are very similar if not the same.
As you can see, some of the pieces I find are old as hell and are damaged already but still, some are incredibly good made by very talented people. I personally like those that try to depict the Mayan or Aztec - or any old civilization - lifestyle and portray ruins or monuments.
I have no idea what this is, but I can guess; if you tried to guess you would never do it correctly if you haven't been to Mexico AND have eaten something called TAMAL, which is a traditional Mexican food (I don't say dish because it normally comes wrapped in a banana leaf or a corn husk and you eat directly from there. I guess this lady with two hair braids - as it is traditional for indigenous women who sell food - is carrying both typed of tamales to sell them in the streets.
Some scribbles are just that, and most of the times I don't even understand what they say or their meaning, but they are made with such dedication and with so much talent that the art ends up being amazing.
This sort of piece has got to be a commission. There's no way someone was able to reach this level of detail in such a big wall without getting paid in some sort of way. In my mind, pieces like this one, those that tell a story with just one image, are the hardest to create.
MIL AMORES - CHRISTIAN. Meaning, Christian, the one with one thousand loves, meaning he is someone with lots of girlfriends.
Some pieces are political. This one says in spanish "Where are they? The 43". A few years ago 43 students disappeared in a small town in Mexico and later, they found them buried after being burned. There are many theories about what happened to them, including one that says it was the military who killed them because of the causes they were fighting for. Nobody will ever know the real truth behind this issue but some people are still searching for it.
You can always tell when someone made the piece while under the influence of creativity inducing drugs :P
I think these are the Futurama or Simpsons Aliens, I can't really tell where I've seen them, but I've seen them. The sort of monkey lion on the left beats me, I've no idea where it is from and the baked skeleton above I'm pretty sure it is a creation of the artist.
The beautiful thing about Street art is that you can find two different art styles in the same block. I'm not a big fan of this style but I can see some talent here. Sirock is one of the artists I was able to get in touch with, let's see if he/she replies.
The image in the center is a Jaguar depicted as the Mayan culture does. Fun fact, Jaguar in Mayan is Balam.
This is the entrance to the bar I described a few images above. Notice how the name "Pulque para 2" is included in the graffiti. This was definitely by commission and it means "Pulque for two". Pulque is a traditional alcoholic beverage in Mexico.
Another politically driven piece, this time about the indigenous women who are constantly killed, tortured and treated unfairly in Mexico, especially in towns that are located far away from the main cities.
This one must have been super fun to draw and paint as it seems that three different artists came up with it. It is pretty recent so probably I'll be able to find something about the artists. I haven't found anything while looking up those pseudonyms but I'm pretty sure that eventually I will.
If you have a closer look, some of the pics of this comp are of graffiti located on the corner of the street, which means that some of them - not all, because sadly not all the streets in Mexico have their name in each corner, making it hard as fuck to know where you are if you are driving by - have a name tag. I wonder of the art will show in google maps provided they were painted before the Google car came across them.
If you liked this street art compilation or you just enjoy graffiti, perhaps you will find my last comps very attractive and enjoyable.
See you next month amigos!
