CCC's Street Art Contest #318 "Sleeping Beauty" - Ojos Grises - Alcântara, Portugal

Good evening, everyone, and Welcome to another post in the Street Art community!

Another edition of a contest, another entry from me. And as has become customary in recent weeks, in this one as well, I’ll continue to show you the huge mural I found near my workplace on a day when I arrived at work extremely early—even though I was only going to a training session at 9 a.m. that day.

As I mentioned in my first post in this series, this colorful mural is located in one of the most iconic neighborhoods near the Ajuda area. This area is known for being, in a way, part of the city’s “bedroom community,” yet it’s very centrally located. Over the years, it has been inhabited by more educated young and older residents with higher incomes who are looking for a home in the capital but without the usual hassles like parking and noise.

As a result, over the past three decades, the population—which was predominantly lower-income and middle- or lower-middle-class—has gradually been replaced by digital nomads or retirees from other EU countries or outside the EU who are seeking a sunny place to live, with a peaceful, unhurried lifestyle that fits their financial means.

Today I’m here to share yet another fantastic piece by another Mexican artist. Like the works found immediately to the left of the one I’m sharing here today, this one was also created by an artist from across the ocean.

And despite the distance separating the artist’s homeland from the place where her work was painted, the connection to her other works—as well as the ideas and principles they share and champion—makes this entire “Juntas Hacemos Más” project possible.

In today’s world, it is increasingly essential that we adopt an attitude of reaching out to others. Since the era of modernization in the early 20th century, social distancing between people—along with the modernization of cities—has led to an exponential increase in coldness among people who previously greeted one another on a daily, routine basis.

That is certainly not the purpose of modernization—as we well know—but unfortunately, after more than a hundred years, that is where it has led us. We must rethink our local communities and establish points of contact—points of trust. Points of sharing. Sustainable and continuous growth is not possible. With mistrust and a focus on the issue of boundaries between people, it may indeed be necessary, but it should by no means be considered the only way to present ourselves to a society that aspires to be modern and inclusive.

Here is the list of the other posts from this same mural that have already been shared here.

• Hummingbirds of Freedom
• Women and more women
• The Cat and the Woman
• Nothing compares to you
• Green Eyes
• Purple Hair
• Deep Blue Eyes
• Dark-haired furry anarchist sailor

One of the photographs appears horizontally mirrored, as I saw this presentation on the artist’s own Instagram (link of the post), and I found it truly very interesting. Almost like a portal through which we could observe the work from a different starting point, so that we might gain another perspective and a fresh approach. Just as we should in so many other situations in our lives.

Stop.

Look.

Reflect.

Rethink.