The Spanish art collective Boa Mistura worked in Mexico City painting a colourful mural of a 35m-tall tree on a building above busy Reforma Avenue.

The mural is one of three environmentally friendly new public works made using Airlite paint, which purifies polluted air in a process similar to photosynthesis.
Talking about environmental problems, “What we tried to do with our work was make the city more aware. It made a lot of sense to plant this tree on an avenue that is traversed by so many cars.” says Pablo Purone, one of artists in the group.

Absolut Street Trees, by Boa Mistura, is a project commissioned by backed by Pernod Ricard, the French alcohol manufacturer, the mural aims to increase oxygen levels in one of the western hemisphere’s most polluted cities from decades ago, where ozone concentration levels remain very high despite government regulations on fuel and cars.

Acording the Airlite manufacturer, the paint chemically reacts with pollutants in the air, turning them into inert compounds. The roughly 1,000 squar meter mural should neutralise the same amount of pollution created by around 60,000 vehicles a year.

The paint lasts about ten years, says Mariana Guzman, a communications specialist for Absolut in Mexico, and permits to repaint the murals will have to be renewed periodically. The Mexican artists Seher One and Revost are painting two other works in the city.

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Boa Mistura. The work of Boa Mistura is all about the love of graffiti, colour and life. This group founded by 5 Spanish artists is, as the name says, a good mixture. Arkoh, Derko, Pahg, Purone and Rdick have developed their work in different fields, applying both a diversity of styles and the different views of each member. Boa Mistura represents a mixture of perspectives which complement, influence and mix themselves together in order to create something better. From graffiti and mural painting, to graphic design and illustration, Boa Mistrua want to give the world its colour back. 5 heads, 10 hands, just one heart.

Boa Mistura is a multidisciplinary group whose roots are in graffiti, currently directed by Javier Serrano, Pablo Ferreiro and Pablo Purón. The group works in various fields: from the latest trends in graffiti and street murals, to illustration, graphic design, studio painting and collaborations with interior designers and architects.

They have taken part in exhibitions in art galleries such as the Reina Sofía Museum and the Casa Encendida in Madrid, and the DA2 Museum in Salamanca. They have collaborated with foundations such as ONCE (Spanish national organisation for the blind), Oxfam and Antonio Gala, and given lectures at universities such as Madrid, Seville and Alcalá de Henares.

Boa Mistura has completed projects for brands such as Google, Microsoft, Sony Music and Adidas and in 2010 a Latin Grammy nomination for best cover design. The term “Boa Mistura”, from the Portuguese for “good mixture”, refers to the diversity of style and perspectives of each member. Love for graffiti, colour and life. Distinct visions which complement each other, influence each other, and always combine to create something even better.

Javier Serrano Guerra, “Pahg”. An architect from ETSAG in Madrid who specialised in landscape design at the IUAV in Venice.
Juan Jaume Fernández, “Derko”. Graduated in Fine Art, specialising in photography and video, from the University of the Arts in Berlin.
Pablo Ferreiro Mederos, “Arkoh”. Graduated in Fine Art, specialising in graphic design, from the TAIK University of Art and Design in Helsinki.
Pablo Purón Carrillo, “Purone”. An illustrator who graduated in Advertising and Public Relations from the URJC in Madrid.
Rubén Martín de Lucas, “rDick”. Civil engineer from the UPM (Polytechnic University).


 

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Published on: May 11, 2019
Cite: "Art that breathes vs Murals to clean the air in Mexico" METALOCUS. Accessed
<https://www.metalocus.es/en/news/art-breathes-vs-murals-clean-air-mexico> ISSN 1139-6415
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