Two new murals, signed by international artists, GonçaloMAR and Lisa Junius, join the street art trail in the city of Frontignan.
Frontignan has two new murals, inaugurated on June 12. Created by the Portuguese GonáloMAR and the Luxembourger Lisa Junius, they bring to 14 the urban route launched by the municipality in 2022, which aims to transform the city into an open-air museum.
For GonáloMAR, one of the most important street art artists of his generation in Portugal, it was a first in Frontignan. For more than thirty years, he has painted on the walls of his country, in Italy, Cape Verde or Morocco, as others would do on a sheet of paper.
“Nothing better than a fresco, in plain sight, to communicate and share with others, without entering a museum. You can see it every day, and it’s free“, explains the artist, accustomed to exhibiting his work in the open air rather than in galleries. On a wall 7.5 meters high and 46 m long, behind the stands of the Asfac football stadium, he was inspired by the local fauna and flora to create his Work.
Nature, a constant source of inspiration
“The heron in the middle of the salt marshes and the flowers form a whole in the world around us, and where man also plays a role. The latter must understand that he is not the priority and that he must treat nature well. This work is therefore an alert for the preservation of the environment“, explains GonáloMAR, whose visual universe is constantly inspired by the landscapes it crosses.
This environmental commitment is found in the second fresco, painted by Lisa Junius on a wall 3.8 meters high and 12 meters long near the cinema parking lot.
The migratory bird that caught the attention of the Luxembourger is the swan. “I drew it a bit like a dove, because I wanted my fresco to bring serenity, hence its dreamlike shapes“, she specifies. The artist draws her inspiration from literature, particularly tales and mythology.
“Culture by all and for all”
With these two new works, the city has a total of 14 murals scattered throughout the streets and building facades. With these, the Frontignan town hall continues its policy of “culture by all and for all“, specifies Camille Bailbé, director of the City’s culture and heritage department.
“Covid was a trigger for this policy, with the closure of places welcoming the public. Our desire was to ensure that beauty could appear everywhere in the city and that it was freely accessible“, she continues.
The City works with the Sete Sois Sete Luas festival, whose international network of artists makes it possible to welcome foreign creators and to send, in return, local artists abroad. The network coordinator, Marco Abbondanza, proposes the artists according to the chosen locations. “The works created must echo the characteristics of the town and its atmosphere. We provide a framework, an orientation, information on the town and the site on which the fresco will be created“, specifies the director of culture and heritage.
An urban route that reaches the city entrance
Launched in 2022, the urban route was first deployed in the historic heart of the city. Certain walls selected were located on listed buildings or did not belong to the municipality, authorizations had to be requested before each construction. The city center being now well provided, the municipality has chosen to continue its journey at the entrance to the commune.With the future district on the former Mobil wasteland, and which will form the link with the two quays, it was decided to work on the entrance to the city. We gradually mesh the territory. The ambition is to make the city an open-air museum“, explains Camille Bailbé, director of the City’s culture and heritage department.
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The invited artist then presents sketches, subject to validation. “They can be asked to rework if necessary. The difficulty is that as long as the locations have not been defined, it is complicated for them to make sketches above ground“, underlines Camille Bailbé.
One of the three commissioned frescoes did not see the light of day
Of the three frescoes commissioned this year, as part of the Sete Sois Sete Luas festival, only one did not see the light of day: that of the Moroccan artist Tima on the facade of a building in the leisure area, near the bowling alley, at the entrance to the city. “The artist had already ordered his colors. However, they did not go with the wall which is already red. She preferred to give up. We need to find the right wall for him.“, explains the director, who does not close the door on her return.
“In agreement with the artist, next year we will find another wall in Frontignan so that she can create her fresco“, adds the coordinator of the Sete Sois Sete Luas network. See you next year.
