Urban art goes large... in Málaga

The recent event in Málaga has been hailed as 'the most important urban art intervention at a world-class level'

Last week something extraordinary happened in Málaga when not only one, but actually two of the world’s most renowned street artists flew into the capital of the Costa del Sol, each tasked with creating a massive 7-storey mural. Yep, we’re talking about none other than America’s Frank Shepard Fairey, aka Obey, and London’s very own D*Face, otherwise known as Dean Stockton. They were here as part of the MAUS (Málaga Urban Art in Soho) project,  where a previously rather run down district of the city – now renamed as Soho – is currently being transformed by art, taking on a new life at the sharp edge of all things cultural…

Shepard Fairey's massive Peace and Liberty mural in Málaga

First up was Shepard Fairey, whose iconic Barack Obama ‘Hope’ poster designed for the US presidential election in 2008 shot him to fame virtually overnight.

So, with their safety harnesses clipped onto a platform suspended in mid-air, Shepard Fairey and his crew worked 9 hours a day for the 3 days it took them to complete his massive mural entitled ‘Paz y Libertad’ – Peace and Liberty.

Huge crowds craned their necks to watch the work in progress, with the roof terrace of the neighbouring CAC Málaga Centre of Contemporary Art the perfect vantage point in more ways than one!

Despite the high winds, especially 7-storeys up, the intervention was finished ahead of schedule, so Shepard Fairey took the opportunity to spend the next two days ‘doing some street art spots and taking in the sights’.

The D*Face crew get down to business... 7 storeys up!

But even before he’d finished his serene and mystical mural now occupying one entire wall of an apartment block, D*Face and his team moved in and lost no time in getting started on his installation entitled ‘Combat Pilot’ with its rather puzzling – well, at least it is to me – ‘I’ll put an end to those flying d*dog if its the last thing I ever do!!!’ message, the polar opposite of Shepard Fairey’s ’Peace and Liberty’.

According to the MAUS project’s Fer Francés, Málaga’s recent event represents ‘the most important urban art intervention at a world-class level’.

Still in progress when we took these photos, D*Face's stunning 'Combat Pilot' now occupies an entire 7-storey wall

Not only does the capital of the Costa del Sol now boast D*Face’s largest mural to date, as well as the third-largest Shepard Fairey mural in the world, but both artists seemed well and truly smitten by the city. And there’s more to come, because on Shepard Fairey’s Obey Giant website – where he says, ‘I could not have anticipated how warmly we would be greeted in Málaga’ – he also goes on to announce that the CAC Málaga Centre of Contemporary Art have invited him back for a solo show in 2015.

That’s a date that I, for one, have already jotted down in my diary!

Although only the fifth largest city in Spain, Málaga has been punching well above its weight in the cultural stakes ever since the Picasso Museum and the CAC Málaga Contemporary Art Centre both opened their doors in 2003, followed by the Félix Revello de Toro Museum in 2010, and the Carmen Thyssen Museum in 2011. So it’s no surprise that it’s become one of Europe’s leading destinations for cultural city breaks.

Even so, you’ve got to admit that the MAUS Málaga project has pulled off something of a major coup.

C’mon Banksy… it’s your turn next!