May 12, 2022

12:05

Priscilla Peixoto – Cenarium Magazine

MANAUS – With traces, colors and messages that reinforce cultural, political and everyday contexts, local artists make Manaus, little by little, a city increasingly adept at urban art. Whether on the facades of buildings, overpasses, private companies, the muralists perpetuate art and make history, like the Amazonian artist Alessandro Hips who, in celebration of his 20-year career, will hold the project “Son of the Amazon”, with two artistic murals aimed at reaffirming the pride of local identity.

According to the artist, the urban art exhibition will have two medium-sized murals, one in the Amazon capital and the other in the interior of the state, more precisely in the city of São Gabriel da Cachoeira (850 kilometers away from Manaus), scheduled to be produced on the 14th and 27th, respectively.

“In Manaus I chose Constantino Nery Avenue, for being one of the first spaces I painted at the beginning of my career and for being our largest open-air gallery in the city. In the case of São Gabriel da Cachoeira, the choice is due to having the largest indigenous population in the country and the strong influence of native peoples in my artistic production,” he explains.

Cultural street tourism

Besides celebrating his 20-year career, the artist also points out that the work aims to strengthen local tourism and encourage the creative economy, since the paintings become points of visitation.

“The large urban centers have become open-air galleries and we have noticed that the places that receive the artistic murals have become points of visitation that foment cultural street tourism. As an example, the alley of the Batman, in SP, and the Mirante do Cura, in BH. In Manaus, now, we also have the Guardian of the Amazon, which also develops this role for the handicraft square next door,” points out the artist.

Change in the art scene

Alessandro points out that, as the years go by, the street art, previously seen with “bad eyes” by the majority, today, starts to have greater acceptance and admiration from the society. “Before, a movement so marginalized and little understood, today, a great tourist attraction and reflection to our days. The professionalization of the scene, of the artists themselves. Today, we have exclusive materials, created to meet our demands of artistic production,” celebrates the professional who has as one of his inspirations the Italian painter Caravaggio, for his artistic production and way of life.

With productions inspired by the image of the Amazonian woman, Alessandro seeks to represent, in a poetic form the popular beliefs and experiences of the people who live in the north of the country. An example of this is the work entitled “Guardian of the Amazon”, located in the old Hotel Amazonas, downtown Manaus. The painting is, in fact, one of those responsible for promoting the name of the artist who seeks to spread the urban art of the Amazon beyond the Amazon territory.

Places like Belém, Porto Velho, Boa Vista, Recife, Salvador, Belo Horizonte, and Rio de Janeiro are some of the cities in Brazil that also have Alessandro Hipz’s work registered: “The urban art, in our state, each year is reaching levels never imagined before. With the latest major productions, the urban art movement in the capital of the state of Amazonas stands out as the greatest exponent in the north of the country and has been transforming Manaus into an open-air gallery. We can say that urban art in Manaus is on the right path”, he concludes.