Peeking around the corner you spot it a vibrant splash of color amidst the urban landscape. This is the Frog Mural. More precisely it is one of Bordalo II’s oldest plastic animals. The Frog Mural dates back to 2017.
You might need to know about the Frog Mural to find it. Even though it sits at the end of a busy street. This work is not too far from Bordalo’s workshop. Maybe you’ll see the big man around the neighborhood.
Other animals in his Plastic series include the Iberian Lynx. You can see that artwork in Parque das Nações.
Bordalo II attended the Painting course at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Lisbon for eight years. He never completed it. These years allowed him to discover sculpture and ceramics. He also experimented with a variety of materials. This distanced him from painting. Public space became the chosen stage for his explorations. He explored color and scale. He transformed his habits. He channeled his experiences into his artistic work.
His art questions the materialistic and greedy society. He is also part of this society. Excessive production and consumption result in garbage. This garbage leads to the destruction of the planet. Garbage assumes itself as the unusual raw material. Bordalo II uses it to construct small and large-scale pieces. He has spread these around the world. Above all they intend to be a vehicle for a universal manifesto.
The Frog Mural is a perfect example of his philosophy. Plastic animals lose their camouflage completely. They display only the natural colors of plastics. Bordalo II also uses other discarded objects as raw material. The focus is on form and composition. He creates colorful works. He demonstrates his appreciation for the contradictory beauty of our waste. He uses games of contrast texture color and depth. He creates these with recognizable objects from our daily lives.
Bordalo II was born in Lisbon in 1987. At first we might associate him with Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro. However it’s an allusion to his grandfather. His grandfather was the painter Real Bordalo. His close relationship with his grandfather was the starting point for his art.
Illegal graffiti was too present in his life. The need to express himself was bigger than the message. This practice helped him get comfortable with big dimensions. He got comfortable with the street and its surroundings. In 2013 he presented his first art piece made out of garbage. It was at the Walk&Talk festival in the Azores.
Bordalo II calls himself an artivist. He is an artist and an activist at heart. He builds his art with the waste of a consumerist society. He sends an energetic and sensitive message. This message helps raise awareness of the need to change. He wants to change the unsustainable system we live in.
His works convey an urgent message of sustainability. This message can be understood by anyone. It does not matter their age cultural level or social status. He uses garbage to form animals. This appeals to our empathy towards the victims of mankind.
The Frog Mural is surprising and fascinating with its vibrant colors. It was the first piece of the series ‘Plastic Trash Animals’. It was created for the individual exhibition ‘ATTERO’.
So take a moment to appreciate the Frog Mural. It is a reminder of our impact on the environment. It is also a beautiful piece of art.