Suso33, the Spanish artist who makes the walls speak in Mozambique

The Spanish artist Suso33 began to create his first links with painting through graffiti, with works exhibited in centers such as the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid, but a very special project to decorate a large wall in Mozambique has allowed him return to its beginnings.

“This initiative has been a great opportunity for me because it takes me back to where I started.”said Suso33 in a video call interview with EFE, before the mural’s inauguration on Friday in the Chamanculo C district in the capital, Maputo.

“I have always been moved by a social component, of being on the street and being able to work in symbiosis with the elements around me, of making more social and public art,” added the Madrid painter, whose real name is Jesús López.

The initiative, promoted by the Embassy of Spain and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), began on June 17 and ended with the inauguration of this mural on a 260-meter wall.

The local artist collective Maputo Street Art, among others, participated in the activities for the creation of the work.

Pedestrians and curious onlookers also joined in and ended up participating in the creation of the mural in the neighborhood where Habitat Chamanculo C operates, the Catalan section of the development NGO Architectures without Borders that collaborates on this project.

“In one of the parts of the mural, we painted a sequence of water drops, I liked that a lot of people came together to carry it out and that the result was so comforting“, admitted Suso33.

“Many people walk with jugs of water“added the artist, who usually interacts with his surroundings during the execution of his works and wanted to capture the drops in representation of this common element of the streets of the district.

Elderly women from the community also took part in the initiative.

“We were able to share conversations with the older women of the community, we sat in a circle with them and began to listen to how they debated the name they would give to the street where the artistic action was taking place.”said Suso33, revealing that the winning name was “Art Street.”

A documentary by Carlos Saura

In addition, the artist premiered this Thursday at the Escala Theater in Maputo the documentary “The Walls Speak”, directed by Carlos Saura and in which he stars along with other creators.

“I loved working with Carlos Saura, listening to his vision. During the filming of the film, he was encouraged to participate in the work that I painted with both hands: he drew, I crossed out, and he superimposed another shape,” he recalled.

After the presentation of the film, Suso33 made a “performance” scenography with several moving panels to the sound of the timbila, an instrument originally from Mozambique considered intangible cultural heritage of humanity by UNESCO.

“It was very fun because through movement and coordinating with the Mozambican musical artist Cheny Wa Gune, I covered the panel with stains and spray strokes, while moving to the rhythm of his music.“, account.

A practice similar to the one he carried out on another occasion with the musician Nacho Masttreta and his band in Madrid or the “performance” he performed at the ARCO fair (Madrid) in 2012.

“I am very grateful to the AECID for valuing my work and for betting on projects of this type that give visibility to the work of Spanish muralists, since we are a pioneering promotion worldwide.“added Suso33.