folklore on a mannequin

Posted on February 6, 2020 by Mary C

There is a large mural by Lebanese artist Yazan Halwani covering the side of a building on Nadeem Al Mallah street in Amman. It was painted in 2016 from a mannequin wearing a folklore type costume.

large black and white and grey mural of a woman in a traditional costume, on the side of bulding, beside a window with pink curtains and a broken pane of glass

Like a lot of Halwani’s work, the design relies on calligraphy & Arabic writing. It is meant as a statement about the mix of Jordanian and Lebanese cultures.

close up of face in mural of woman by Yazan halwani,

aptART gender equality

Posted on February 6, 2020 by Mary C

In central Amman is a mural of a face that is divided vertically down the middle, half male and half female. It was painted by Akut (half of Herakut) in 2016.

mural by herakut in Amman, very large face that is divided vertically down the middle, male on one side, female on the other, 4 storeys high, black background, man with beard and small moustache

mural by herakut in Amman, very large face that is divided vertically down the middle, male on one side, female on the other,close up of eyes, nose and mouth

This mural was made with the support of USAid and aptART. The latter is an acronym for Awareness and Prevention through Art. In this case, they are highlighting the question of gender equality. They sponsored four other murals in Amman but unfortunately I don’t have any photos of them (nor did I see them when I was there).

Breaking the Silence

Posted on February 4, 2020 by Mary C

‘Breaking the Silence’ is a large mural on Arar Street in Amman, Jordan. Two young women designed and painted this 8 storey mural, Miramar Al Nayyar, and Dalal Mitwally

large mural of a woman in grey tones, looking upwards with her eyes closed. It covers the whole of one side of a multi storey building, Arabic writing around her

Red Arabic writing provides a pattern in the background. The English translation is: “Let your eyes be cast on the mountaintops.”

colours and people on the stairs.

Posted on February 4, 2020 by Mary C

On Ahmad Bin Hanbal Street, close to where it connects to Prince Muhammad, there is a set of stairs leading upward. Because Amman is built on a number of hills, stairs like this are many (although not all of them are painted).

brightly coloured stairs that end with a a white wall with paintings of people made from circles and ovals with stick arms and legs, all doing something

below: A busy group of people, climbing ladders, filming, talking to the cameraman, constructing, walking, etc.

a white wall with paintings of people made from circles and ovals with stick arms and legs, all doing something, climbing ladder,

rainow and flowers painted on a set of stairs

below: A long ribbon of colours flow from her backpack.

black silhouette of a girl with a backpack on, reading a book, colours flow from ther backpack in a long wave down the stairs

below: Leaves made of multicoloured spirals

beside a railing and a staircase, a mural of a tree with spirals in the place of leaves, many colours

part of a mural of stick figures with oval bodies, a hand on a hip

below: A question mark on his forehead. Also, a view of one of the hillsides in central Amman.

a blue line drawing of a man's face with a question mark on his forehead, painted on a short wall, view of Amman in the background

Black & White Power

Posted on February 4, 2020 by Mary C

In Rome there is a long line of murals by Italian artists Sten and Lex that line both sides of the same street, Via dei Magazzini Generali. On one side, on an orange wall, are portraits of famous people.

long orange wall with large portraits by sten and lex, Italian street arts, in a mural on two sides of the street, of famous people and common people,

On the opposite side of the street is a shorter blue wall with pictures of common people.

large portraits by sten and lex, Italian street arts, in a mural on two sides of the street, of famous people and common people,

below: A Pope

pope and others, large portraits by sten and lex, Italian street arts, in a mural on two sides of the street, of famous people and common people,

The portraits were made with a combination of stencils and painting.

girl, middle aged man, woman, large portraits by sten and lex, Italian street arts, in a mural on two sides of the street, of famous people and common people,

three people, large portraits by sten and lex, Italian street arts, in a mural on two sides of the street, of famous people and common people,

woman in hard hat giving peace symbol with hand, large portraits by sten and lex, Italian street arts, in a mural on two sides of the street, of famous people and common people,

below: Barak Obama

Barak Obama, large portraits by sten and lex, Italian street arts, in a mural on two sides of the street, of famous people and common people,

elderly woman with glasses and yellow sweater, large portraits by sten and lex, Italian street arts, in a mural on two sides of the street, of famous people and common people,

below: Elvis & others

Elvis Presley and a rapper, large portraits by sten and lex, Italian street arts, in a mural on two sides of the street, of famous people and common people,

The one different picture is the panther, a symbol of power, with a woman’s face superimposed on it.

a large panther head in profile, with mouth wide open and teeth showing, a woman superimposed onto the side of the face of the panther, mural by sten and lex called black and white power

at Borgo Pio and Vicolo Del Campanile

Posted on February 3, 2020 by Mary C

Near the Vatican is saw a small collection of pasteups:

below: Game Over on the Cash Machine by Luther Posca

paste up graffiti on a wall in Rome, a picture of a cash machine as video game, monitor says game over

paper paste up of Jesus, white robes, halo, and arms reaching up

close up of Jesus's upper body and the picture and words on his chest

below: The remains of a big nosed character by K2M with a red heart along with a black and white version of Edvard Munch’s “Scream” but with a man in a white shirt and black tie instead. Modern man’s turn to scream.

3 paper paste ups on a yellow concrete wall, all three slightly faded and peeling at the edges, one is a K2M charaacter with a red heart, another is a black and white drawing similar to Edvard Munsch's Scream painting, and the last is a drawing of a young boy with ray gun and old fashioned idea of a space uniform

below: Similar to above but in better condition. K2M’s iconic character now has a pink heart and a version of “American Gothic” by Grant Wood has appeared beside the screaming man. Again, the man is dressed in a white shirt and black tie. Almost lost at the bottom are two stickers from Flat Heart.

paste ups on a metal box in the street in Rome

Roman faces and clown fish

Posted on January 29, 2020 by Mary C

“The Fall of the Gods” can seen on Via Ostiense. It is a 40 metre mural painted in 2015 by Carlos Atoche and Mexican artist Luis Alberto Alvarez. In it, images of ancient Roman statues have fallen and are now underwater.

faces and fish on blue background, painted mural on wall with barbed wire above it, another mural on the wall beyond as well