La Cocollona

A large mural in Girona Spain painted by Erica Il Cane (ericailcane) oof a crocdile with wings on its back.

mural of a large crocodile with butterfly wings on its back, standing on its hind legs, reaching for flying insects to eat, on the side of an apartment building
straight frontal view of ericailcane mural, mural of a large crocodile with butterfly wings on its back, standing on its hind legs, reaching for flying insects to eat, on the side of an apartment building

Over the years her scaly skin has lost its greenish blue colour but otherwise she is aging well.

reaching for flying insects, mural of la cocollona, river monster or crocodile in Girona Spain

From Wikipedia: “According to legend, she was once a nun who, due to her lack of faith, was punished and imprisoned in the dungeon of the city’s monastery, and could only leave to go to the river that runs through the city (Onyar River). After many years, due to her undernourishment and isolation, she grew scales until she fully metamorphosed into a crocodile-like creature. In spite of this punishment, she was still somewhat saintly, which manifested as a pair of butterfly wings.

ground floor level of mural, some cars parked in front of it,

Photos taken March 2023

standing upright in Girona

A long stretch of railway is elevated as it passes through the city of Girona, Spain. A bicycle and pedestrian path runs underneath. Some of the pillars supporting the railroad have been decorated by street artists.

below: Birds in flight

street art of black and white birds in flight on a concrete pillar

below: Cyop & Kaf have painted a few of the pillars with their black silhouette-like people such as this stolen kiss.

silhouette black people in street art, on a concrete pillar, top is man hanging upside down holding the feet of another man who is also upside down and kissing woman standing on the street, motorcycle parked in front

or this very tall man – He’s all tied up with his feet in the mud? in concrete?

street art on a concrete pillar - black silhouette man with his feet buried in the ground

street art on a pillar by Cyop and kaf

street art of a man, black silhouette, wedged between two blocks of concrete, and trying to pry space wider with a stick
people walking under an elevated railway, on a bike path, with street art on the concrete pillars supporting the railway

below: KRAM is responsible for two pillars including this blue character on a swing.

street art on a large concrete support, a blue character with human body but different head, sits on a swing, wearing purple running shoes with orange laces untied, orange shorts and brown t shirt, tongue stuck out, by kram

below: The other KRAM pillar is this one – quite different from the first.

street art painting by kram on a concrete post, cars parked behind, painting is sliced stacks of patterns

below: Two pandas

street art, 2 pandas, small one above is a paste up, lower one is painted and is more stylized

below: A brush to clean the toilet bowl. Not your average painting subject matter.

street art painting of a toilet bowl cleaning brush

realistic street art painting of a man in a white shirt

below: A few pillars are decorated with these red and blue guys – stylized yet anatomically correct – painted by Boris Hoppek

pineapple and face, street art

Photos taken in early March 2023

Eres un graffiti?

“Are you graffiti?”, asks one of the other.

Words matter! Are you graffiti? Of course not, I am more than that! I am a mural.

But what is the difference? Sometimes the difference is obvious but sometimes the line dividing graffiti from its bigger (and more important? more respected?) sibling is blurry.

It’s a question asked by an artist who left his/her mark on a concrete pillar in Girona.

Photo taken March 2023.