In Chile , walls and public buildings are blank canvases to express dissent, frustration and hope. Bridges across dry riverbeds in the Atacama desert are daubed with slogans demanding the equitable distribution of Chile’s water , and graffiti on rural bus stops demand the restitution of Indigenous lands from forestry companies . Every inch of the bohemian port city Valparaíso is plastered with paint and posters.
“Chile is a nation of muralists,” said Patricio Rodríguez-Plaza, an academic at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile , who studies the language and art of Chile’s streets. “Our walls are where we communicate – it’s how we use our public space.” One renowned street artist in paint-spattered jeans spent two weeks transforming a water tower at the country’s national stadium into a powerful symbol of Chile’s battle to remember its past.
“I have always had a strong social conscience,” Alejandro “Mono” González exclaims brightly. “The fight was born inside me, it just didn’t have an escape. There’s so much you can say with paint and a blank surface.
” González, 77, has painted across Latin America and Europe, and his murals adorn hotels and public buildings in China, Cuba and Vietnam. González’s giant creations combine bright petals of colour, separated by thick black lines, and resemble stained-glass windows. “I wouldn’t say it’s cheerful, but they’re hopeful colours, which go beyond victimhood, pain and sadn.