(This article doesn't condone violent or terrorist attacks, the intention is only informative)
If you've read our last entries you should know by now that street art is freedom. We've talked about some big artists in this world but, what about anonymous artists? During history street art has been an essential tool to social movements. During the decade of the '90s and early 2000s, the radical independence movement in the Basque country was very strong with the intention of separating from Spain and being an independent Euskalerria. This radical movement led to the creation of Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA). The movement was so strong and had the support from almost all the Basque country that literally started a war between them and the Spanish government. In this war, there were massive protests in different places, where street art worked as a way of making a bit more permanent their discontent and anger. Here are some examples:
Foto by: Wikimedia commons
Foto by: CNN
As you can see in this picture it's still street art because it represents feelings from someone expressed on a wall. And although ETA attacks stopped in 2008 many of these graffiti remain in some villages in the Basque country that work as a constant reminder of what happened in those dark years.
Also, in the HBO series: Patria, the portrayal of the importance graffiti has in strong social movements is clear. (No spoiler alert of course) When Txato starts being threatened by ETA graffiti is what alerts him. The series is based on these historical events and I'm so glad they portrayed perfectly what street art means.
Foto: Fictional character Txato stands in front of a graffiti threatening him in the series patria. Image by: HBO
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