Kiefernstrasse houses

Posted on March 18, 2026 by Mary C

Kiefernstrasse translates to Pine tree street… it is a street in Dusseldorf that has history. It is lined with apartment blocks that started life as homes for workers in the local factories steel works in the late 1800s. Some were damaged during the war. In the mid 1900s they became home to squatters and other “left wing” groups. Now many of them have been fixed up and/or covered with large colourful murals.

row of buildings, 4 storeys, all covered with different colourful murals, kiefernstrasse (pine tree street) in Dusseldorf Germany

below: He’s hiding behind a tree now – a mural that M05K and Johanna OLGA painted in 2013

upper part of mural, behind a tree, person in blue head scarf, holding something yellow and large,

below: Bare feet on long skinny legs stick out of pink pants.

below: At street level, groups of strange characters in black outfits are standing around. Except for the little one, they are all wearing hats shaped like pyramids.

part of larger mural, three smaller creatures standing at street level, black outfits with just face showing, and pyramidal shaped hats, one hat is yellow and the other is pink. one of the characters is much shorter than the others and he has no hat

green rat with large pink eras painted on concrete, beside bare foot that is part of a larger mural, rat partially behind a real garbage bin

below: There are quite a few signs that help tell the story of Kiefernstrasse. The headline on the poster below is ” 1992 Wandbilder sind lebendige Kunstwerke” (= Murals are living works of art) and the article talks about 1992 and how it was the year that Klaus Klinger, Daniel Pulido, and a group of youths painted “Everything’s Bananas” at number 37. This was the first mural on the street; it no longer exists.

framed picture of an article about the history of Kiefernstrasse, 1992, the year the first mural was painted here

apartment blocks covered in murals, kiefernstraase

residential building on kiefernstrasse covered with street art that looks like a large red honeycomb

below: Daniel MacLloyd painted this large blue bird.

below: This gable is covered by a marine scene – including turtles swimming in the water – was painted by Ami One

gable mural by Ami One in Dusseldorf, marine scene including turtles swimming in the water

below: Bright orange faces!

below: The Dusseldorf monkey is also here.

yellow monkey crouching beside a mural with orange people

below: And again!

graffiti on a red wall - yellow stencil of a monkey holding a paint brush with his tail and a bucket in his hands, beside a paste up that says evolution in the same font as used by coca cola

below: A bright red door, surrounded by….

Kiefernstrasse houses, street level, leaves falling on wet sidewalk, one door entrance is bright red, walls have red dragon with gold clouds,

below: … a long red dragon winding its way through golden clouds.

below: Käferhouse, or Beetle House, by Till Martin Köster and Christian Bolte, 2008. Insects galore! beetles, ants, roaches, bedbugs…. including some with human faces on their backs.

4 storey residential building covered in paintings of insects, beetles, ants, and others both real and imaginary crawling around between the windows, mural in Dusseldorf, some insects have human faces

4 storey residential building covered in paintings of insects, cockroaches, beetles, ants, and others both real and imaginary, mural in Dusseldorf, some insects have human faces

below: One of the many interesting smaller artworks found among the larger murals is this pair of kids in the playground riding their elephants and playing at war, or protest, or being social justice warriors… your choice. Google wants me to believe that it is a Banksy but I am not falling for it.

small graffiti, realistic (i.e. photo) image of two kids on springy elephants in a playground, one has balaclava and happy face flag, the other is wearing a metal helmet

below: Another social commentary artwork. This time a girl has plenty to eat (and takes a picture of it) while the person beside her goes without.

below: A white unicorn with laser vision – the little white sign painted into the mural says “Laser Rainbow Unicorn & Robocat Rider”. Apparently cats riding unicorns in space is not an unusual theme. The other little sign says “Kevin Gucci” – is that the artist?

part of a mural on kiefernstrasse, white unicorn with laser eyes, and two cats, one sitting in the corner, and one with robot mechanical leg and carrying a flaming sword

below: Strange things are happening on the balcony! There’s even a sheep…. but wait, that’s not a real balcony, instead the artist has employed what is known as “trompe-l’œil style” – it’s painted to look like a wooden balcony structure.

mural in "trompe-l'œil style" - it's painted to look like a wooden balcony structure.

below: At street level, under the balcony seen above, is an alcove for a garage entrance – but it seems like a green police van is parked there already! I wonder what the gnome mechanics are up to!

mural of 2 gnomes in red caps and blue tops, working on a green police van. one gnome is holding a wrench,

some of the painted houses in kiefernstrasse dusseldorf

small yellow and brown painted animal on a balcony, beside a wall painted in rainbow colors with an image of the planet earth

below: 2007’s addition to the street was a (mostly) monochrome mural that is part puzzle pieces and part little figures. Ben Mathis was responsible for creating the ‘grid’, while MaJo Brothers painted the figures such as this robot holding a cracked egg. Was it dropped? Or is it hatching? 2007.

monochrome mural that is part puzzle pieces and part little figures. Ben Mathis was responsible for creating the 'grid', while MaJo Brothers painted the figures such as this robot holding a cracked egg

large image of the urban art mural, monochrome mural that is part puzzle pieces and part little figures. Ben Mathis was responsible for creating the 'grid', while MaJo Brothers painted the figures such as this robot holding a cracked egg

below: Splotches of blue

below: The characters (animals) in this mural are Marsupilami. They first appeared in the Belgian comic book “Spirou” in 1952 in a story below: The characters (animals) in this mural are Marsupilami. They first appeared in the Belgian comic book “Spirou” in 1952 in a story written by André Franquin. In the story, a man delivers a mysterious package from South America and as it turns out, the package contains a baby Marsupilami. Franquin continued writing about their adventures until the 1970s. In the 1980s the characters were re-invented and found themselves in TV episodes and video games.

marsupilami painting on a green door, a yellow animal with black spots

below: The next two paintings flank a doorway, one on either side – an equestrian statue (i.e. a man on a horse) and a woman from time gone by but with anachronistic cans of spray paint in her hands.

mural of a man on a horse, equestrian statue — This image shows another of the articles documenting the history of the area. This one describes an event in 1919 where a train was robbed outside Dusseldorf by a gang of about 30 men, led by “A communist from Kiefernstrasse” known as Steil. He was subsequently shot by the police and died from his wounds.

mural of a woman in medieval clothing, but with a can of spray paint in each hand

below: Stencil, boy with a large helmet – ready to be an astronaut. Once upon a time there were a few more details visible in the helmet. This ‘Space Travel’ was made by Seileise aka Tim Ossege.

below: Everyone’s painting these days!

a framed poster describing part of the history of kiefernstrasse beside graffiti stencil of a young girl wearing a covid mask, with a large paint brush in her hand — Another poster tells the story of the first Streetfest here in 1982 where the greengrocer’s shop was turned into a cafe with a borrowed sound system.

part of larger mural, person with a red hat and a pacifier in his or her mouth

below: It almost looks like a giant crossword puzzle.

below: Neptune swims upside down

below:The Reds are reaching out, wanting to run? looking for something?

below: He doesn’t look very happy.

below: Jesus carries a goat

old railway car sits beside sidewalk, covered with street art including an image of Jesus carrying a goat

below: On an upper wall, a golden Buddha sits and meditates.

Buddha in seated meditation pose, gold, mural on wall in kiefernstraase

below: “Love will tear us apart” more than once.

little pieces of graffiti on a wall beside a large mural with orange faces, two stickers that say love will tear us apart,

below: Together in one place, four little pieces by JoinyStreetArt (round white face), sm111le, Karl Heinz Swaggert (hairy fellow on the left), and Metraeda (pink cat). If you have been following this blog, you will probably recognize some of the names and their corresponding styles.

black wall, graffiti, 4 small pieces, by JoinyStreetArt (round white face), sm111le (smiling radish), Karl Heinz Swaggert (hairy fellow on the left), and Metraeda (pink cat)

below: Bad Goat, with a strand of green vine and a third eye

bad goat graffiti, a white goat head with black horns and three eyes, graffiti

below: “Nothing else matters” actually refers to a football club.

Photos taken October 2025

Shalom Habibi, and other things seen in Nippes

Posted on March 12, 2026 by Mary C

Nippes is a neighbourhood in Cologne Germany.

below: Nippes has it’s own mural complete with city skyline on a red background – painted by Robin Von Gestern.

cars parked in front of a mural painted on a metal garage door, red background, the word nippes in calligraphy in blue and yellow by Robin Von Gestern

below: These little Kölner Heinzelmännchen can be seen on the side of a residential building. These helpful gnomes appear in German legends and folklore; they are rarely seen because they do their work at night and in secret.

little gnomes in pointy red caps in a mural

Goodlack Art has painted them falling down the stairs – Ooops, not so quiet tonight!

below: As part of Cologne’s City Leaks street art festival, this mural was painted by Danjer Mola.

large mural in Nippes Cologne, by Danjer Mola, of a female astronaut with either bare legs or brown skin tight leggings

below: This mural is Okik Momoe’s little bird on a branch… in a fishbowl?

mural by artist Okik Momoe of a little bird on a branch.

below: Preparing to paint a new mural by a community garden.

artist with ladder preparing a wall for mural painting, lines drawn on wall, a painting of a bird already exists beside the spot

below: Immediately above the new painting (above) is a large mural depicting daily life in years gone by.

part of a larger mural depicting daily life in the previous century, in Wilhelmplatz in Nippes

below: In fact, there is a matching mural on the other side of the garden lot.

white chair sits in front of a colourful mural, street art, outdoors,

below: Another gable mural, this one by Sat One.

below: A closer look at part of the mural

A closer look at part of mural by Sat One on a gable in Nippes Cologne

below: This cow, painted by The Kuhl Kid, is a common sight around Cologne. Here it is behind a fence

urban art on a brick wall, behind chainlink fence, one is a black and white cow by the kuhl kid

below: Even though most of the cow is missing, it is still recognizable as being the same as the one above. A little red heart glued into a jar lid seems perfectly placed between the cow’s ears.

remains of face of cow, with red heart in jar lid above its head, and a torn red poster over one eye

below: Cars, pipes, and other accessories on a brick wall

below: Cars and flames. Why are flames so often associated with fast cars?

mural of a car crashing through the wall of a building

mural with calligraphy and text — “Wo immer ich bin
vernehme ich deine stimme ihr sinn
Schwingt durch raum + zeit
in sussem einklang
Verbringen wir jede stunde”.
Translation: Wherever I am, I hear your voice, it’s meaning, it resonates through space and time In sweet harmony we spend every hour.

below: Joiny

paper paste up by Joiny of a woman saying Alaaf You, wearing a dress wth green and yellow flowers on it, peace sign nacklace

below: It’s now a little red and blue abstract painting.

below: A much more complex image than the one above, mechanical yet anatomical. Obviously a face but obviously not a living person.

graffiti, of a face but with mechanical or robotic parts

below: Remnants of a 2010 painting on a long low concrete fence.

concrete fence, low, with metal bars above, autumn leaves, old painting from 2010 on the concrete, red background,

below: Tags on the other side of the fence.

construction of new buildings behind a vacant lot, some graffiti tags on the wall

below: Two faced jester? Or two, back to back?

small painting on metal box cover, column or pillar with two jesters' heads on the top, back to back, graffiti

below: Graffiti stickers on metal poles.

Three graffiti stickers on metal poles, all three are monochromatic black and white

below: More graffiti sticker on a pole. Is that a lobster? or a monstrous creature?

sticker on a pole that seems to say dey hummey des schrecken but that doesn't translate into english

below: Owl on a box

Photos taken October 2025

Together on a concrete wall

Posted on March 8, 2026 by Mary C

A while back I posted about street art that I found around Hochstadenring in Bonn (Dec 2025). What I omitted from that post was a section of the wall that was heavily covered with paste-ups, stickers, and other small pieces of street art. This is that section.

concrete wall between street and elevated section of road, with many graffiti slaps and paste ups on it, Bonn Germany

below: A happy blue monkey by Opus.

below: A red frog clings to a character that looks rather concerned about that large skull lurking behind him. I think that this is a good example of an interesting juxtaposition, whether intentional or accidental, that you can get when you have a collection of pieces from different artists together in one place.

paste up graffiti pieces, A red frog clings to a character that looks rather concerned about that large skull lurking behind him.

below: Elvis is in the building!

paper paste up graffiti in Bonn including an image of Elvis Presley. Rock and Roll King,

below: “You’re driving me bananas!”, a young Sophia Loren, a bird in flight, a green octopus dressed in red and white stripes, and many more slaps.

collection of stickers and paper paste ups on a concrete wall in Bonn, one with text that says plus "You're driving me bananas!", a young Sophia Loren, a bird in flight, a green octopus dressed in red and white stripes, and many more

below: Green Taxonomy, and in the bottom corner, Planet Selfie. Made of triangles and other angular shapes is a white protestor holding a sign that says “Yetis geggen rechts” by Metraeda

below: More love on a phone – this time featuring Sulley from the movie “Monsters Inc”.

below: The paste ups that reference art history (e.g. Rodin’s “The Thinker” and other statues) are the work of Jam Paste. In the center, “It’s not dreams that escape me, but reality”.

collection of graffiti and urban art on a concrete wall in Bonn

below: 8arms2hug is all about octopi including this lovely lady in turquoise with the flowers on her head and a necklace around her neck. Beside her, the bunnies with baseball bats were created by CAP aka Cuts and Pieces.

two paste ups, on the left an octopus and on the right, black and white rabbits with a baseball bat

below: Several posters are here too – One says “WAS HATTEST DU AN!” (= What were you wearing!) while another proclaims, “das Kleben ist schön” (which translates to “pasting is beautiful”).

posters and paste ups in a collection of graffiti

below: A Maid in Cologne artwork shares space with Mr. Burns, from the Simpsons TV show, with a French phrase on his cap, “L’Etat c’est moi”.

paste ups, one features Mr Burns from the Simpsons show

below: Another section with a lot going on including a Zastoj character with 2 X’s for eyes who holds a gun that is almost as big as he it. At the bottom, the striped shirt on that shape suggests Sailordude by TRP613 but his head is different – a collaboration with another artist? Perhaps Metraeda?

graffit by Zastoj, sailordude by trp613, and metraeda, as well as others

below: Once again, there is a lot happening here – from Jams Pastes version of the Thinker, to a small woman carrying a protest sign that says “Frieden, Bier, Sonne” – peace, beer, sun. My apologies to the artist of the latter piece – her name is written on the arm in the image but I can’t read it (b. chandre?).
Three of the paste ups are text, made like beer coasters, and these are by Bierdeckel Street Art.

paper paste ups including sign that says Society sucks - be careful, a copy of Rodin's sculpture by Jams Paste, the thinker, a small woman holding a protest sign that says, in German, Frieden Bier and Sonne (peace, beer, sun) by — The three beer coaster inspired paste ups:
1. “Wickl Dich Nicht Ich”: this translates roughly to “Don’t wrap yourself,
2. “Liebe das Leben”: This green sticker translates to “Love Life.”
3. “Be Kind To Your Mind”

below: One strange looking monster by Sheep Art Cologne (aka Klaus Schaefer)

Photos taken October 2025

signs of Florence….

Posted on February 28, 2026 by Mary C

…. all the work of Clet Abraham

below: David being more modest than usual.

modified traffic sign, graffiti, by Clet Abraham, in Florence, white bar is modesty for Michaelangelo's David statue

below: Video vultures

modified traffic sign, graffiti, by Clet Abraham, in Florence, vulture sitting on top of white bar, head of vulture is a video camera

below: Cupid’s arrow hits it’s target

below: Strangulation by arrows

below: Guitar smashing frenzy

modified traffic sign, graffiti, by Clet Abraham, in Florence, smashing guitar

below: Counting sheep – not a good time to fall asleep!

modified traffic sign, graffiti, by Clet Abraham, in Florence, sheep jumping over white bar

below: Breaking through the ceiling

below: Being crushed by a nasty white bar.

modified traffic sign, graffiti, by Clet Abraham, in Florence,

below: More nastiness, grabbing and squeezing this time.

modified traffic sign, graffiti, by Clet Abraham, in Florence, black figure being held back

below: As the sun breaks through the clouds…

modified traffic sign, graffiti, by Clet Abraham, in Florence, sun breaking through the cloud cover

below: Like weeds growing through crack in the pavement..

daisy flower frowing through white bar,modified traffic sign, graffiti, by Clet Abraham, in Florence,

below: Two for one! Stop the bombs, guitar hero.

two modified traffic signs, graffiti, by Clet Abraham, in Florence, T in Stop sign becomes a bomb, white bar in other sign becomes a guitar

below: Yuck!

modified traffic sign, graffiti, by Clet Abraham, in Florence, bird crapping on white bar

below: Holding onto the bar (faded, worn, from the original black hand)

modified traffic sign, graffiti, by Clet Abraham, in Florence,

below: Stuck

below: Hot!

modified traffic sign, graffiti, by Clet Abraham, in Florence, fire and flames

below: This is one of the signs that I saw in Florence back in 2020. The policeman has faded since then as have the two little red hearts that he is looking at. A better copy of the image can be seen in altered street signs, Florence

modified traffic sign, graffiti, by Clet Abraham, in Florence, policeman

Abraham is from Florence but his work can be seen in a number of places (along with others who have used traffic signs as their canvas). I have posted images from Madrid , and Paris in past years.

Photos taken February 2026

on Chiasso dei Baroncelli

Posted on February 27, 2026 by Mary C

A small collection of graffiti has accumulated on Chiasso dei Baroncelli, a small street in central Florence. This is what it looked like the day I walked past….

below: Frida Kahlo dries her hair… by Miss Quark,

graffiti painting of Frida Kahlo by Miss Quark

below: Painting on metal door by ExitEnter

painting on metal door covering, by exit enter, a family of three

below: This is a copy of “The Schoolgirl” by Swiss artist Albert Anker (1831-1910) with a couple of very subtle changes. The book that she’s holding now appears to be Chinese as does some of the lettering on her chalkboard.

graffiti paasste up of modified famous painting of a schoolgirl

paste up graffiti, woman with arm in air

below: The last few are black and white photos that the artist (WAP?) has then painted a part of – usually just one colour per print.

graffiti paste up made from black and white photo of a man on a bicycle and his dog, going down stairs outside

signed #wap, black and white photo of a man on a motorcycle

black and white photo of a man reading at a table outside, table has been painted orange

two photos, painted, as paste up graffiti

Photos taken February 2026

Ragusa Murals

Posted on February 17, 2026 by Mary C

The previous post, Il Tempo Paso was about 2 murals in Comiso by artists Case Maclaim and Marak Morik. These two have also painted murals in nearby Ragusa.

below: “Familia” by Case Maclaim, 2024

mural by Case Maclaim of two young girls close to their mother who is dressed in turquoise, on the wall of a building beside a playground with a couple of plastic toys

below: Marak Morik, “On the way to Pescheria” (the fish market), 2017

mural by Marak Morik of a man on bicycles, a red umbrella, and a pile of fish.

…..and in the same area of the city is another mural, from FestiWall 2018, an abstract scene (is there a bird in there?) by Alexey Luka,

abstract mural on the side of a building by Alexey Luka

There are many other murals in Ragusa, spread out around the city and most are the product of the annual FestiWalls event. Because of limited time, I only had a chance to check out one more neighbourhood where I found three murals.

below: First, there was a very faded old mural by Fintan Magee; I think that it is a man with a prickly pear cactus.

below: A screen shot from Fintan Magee’s Facebook page – this is what “The Gardener” looked like back when it was painted in 2016 (ten years ago)

fintan magee mural, the gardener, a man with a tomato plant and a prickly pear cactus

below: Agostino Iacurci, “Immobile” – pottery jugs, urns, and other vessels.

close up of part of a large mural by Agostino Iacurci of 4 different pottery jugs on their side, in a stack, along with three little birds, in Ragusa Italy

below: Evoka 1 (aka Elio Mercado), “Resistenza di Incertezza”, 2016, a young girl with an apple on her head as well as six or so more in her hands.

below: A bunny rabbit!

Photos taken February 2026

Il Tempo Paso

Posted on February 16, 2026 by Mary C

“Il Tempo Paso” refers to 2 murals that were painted in the Sicilian town of Comiso as part of the Ragusa Street Art Festival (FestiWall) in 2023 (Ragusa is a nearby city). It was a collaboration between Case Maclaim and Marak Morik.

below: Marak Morik

below: Case Maclaim

Photos taken February 2026

stenciled in Palermo

Posted on February 15, 2026 by Mary C

below: Bouquets of flowers and balloons. Love and romance and whimsy.

below: mmm

below: Instead of her umbrella, Mary Poppins is holding a bicycle

stencil graffiti in Palermo, Mary Poppins holding up a bicycle instead of an umbrella

below: This green crocodile is dancing pretty in a pink tutu. Love diversity!

below: This penguin has packed its bags and is ready to go home – Tourist go home!

below: Yummy!

stencil graffiti in Palermo, text that says eat the rich

below: A kiss, a hammer, and a glass of wine.

stencil graffiti, a couple kissing, a figure holding a hammer and a glass of red wine

below: “Curv a nord inferiore” – Lower north curve, or something like that

below: “Sicily is not Italy”

stencil graffiti in Palermo, male portrait

below: Pulling in two different directions, artwork by Twenty Three

stencil graffiti in Palermo, female portrait

Photos taken February 2026

people on an old wall

Posted on February 12, 2026 by Mary C

Near the Mercato del Capo in the historic center of Palermo Italy there is a warren of small alleys. On a wall in one of these alleys is a small series of faded drawings or painting.

below: Two women’s portraits – a larger classical looking face with a smaller more modern woman in the top corner. The old stones and bricks add a layer of interest to the images that remain.

two women's portraits, faded street art on an old brick and stone wall, textures, alley in Palermo

below: He’s painting a large face on the wall and it looks like he’s been doing it for a long time.

a man, seated, is painting a black face on a stone wall, faded street art on an old brick and stone wall, textures, alley in Palermo

below: Painting at number1

faded street art on an old brick and stone wall, textures, alley in Palermo

below: Blue and red on old brick

below: The brickwork suggests there was once a small window here.

Photos taken February 2026

Let’s make peace

Posted on February 8, 2026 by Mary C

below: Let’s make peace with this nightmare – “Facciamo pace con glu incubi”. She is one of a few paper paste-ups that appear together on a section of wall in Naples (via Santa Maria di Constantinopoli)