Over recent years, the Portuguese artist Nuno Viegas has created an interesting concept which stems from his roots in graffiti writing. “STRAIGHT OUTTA WALL“, or SOW, refers to his graffiti beginnings in Portugal in the late ’90s. As many graffiti artists can relate to, at some point the artist’s work took a turn away from graffiti. In a unique twist for Nuno Viegas, his photorealistic technique was then used to create a style of artwork that is no longer graffiti. Viegas has often been quoted saying, “like the Belgian artist René Magritte who always said, ‘Ceci nést pas une pipe.’ (It is not a pipe). My work is not graffiti, it is a representation of graffiti.”

¨SHIRT MASK SOW03¨

It surely is as Viegas not only uses many of the tools of graffiti to create it, like his favorite Montana GOLD and BLACK colors and classic spray caps, but he also uses these tools and graffiti cultur motifs as the subjects in his work. Like throw-ups, tags, featureless masked faces, and gloved hands. The MURO`21 Festival in Lisbon-Portugal was the location of Viegas’s latest work titled, “Shirt Mask SOW 03”. Organized by ¨Galeria de arte urbana¨ which is a department of the municipality of Lisbon dedicated to Urban Art, the festival featured more than 30 artists which included national greats like Odeith, Colectivo Rua, Thunders Pedro Podre, and Umots, as well as some international artists such as ZuriK, Iam Eelco, Stom 500, and D-Face.

“Like the Belgian artist René Magritte who always said, ‘Ceci nést pas une pipe.’ (It is not a pipe). My work is not graffiti, it is a representation of graffiti.”
Nuno Viegas

As the tallest mural Viegas has ever created thus far, his mural spanned the tall lengths of a bridge pillar in one of Lisbon’s most windy regions. With his favorite stable Montana GOLD greyscale colors white, pebble, marble, roof, gravel, stealth, and black, he braved the wind and attempted to get the most precise and clean linework possible in conditions that were less than favorable. Which is not made easier when you are working between 20-30 meters off the ground. In stark contrast, the yellow acrylic background paint with complimentary fades and additions made an eye-catching combination for a new variation of his famous shirt mask motif. The mural leads on to a solo exhibition also titled “STRAIGHT OUTTA WALL” which will commence in August at the “Crack Kids Lisboa” Shop/Gallery.